Hemant Soren won a confidence vote in the state Assembly on Monday amid a walkout by the Opposition BJP whom the chief minister accuses of engineering defections to topple the ruling JMM-led coalition government in Jharkhand.

The UPA government of the JMM, Congress, RJD and others won the confidence motion Hemant had tabled in the morning by 48 votes, providing a breather to his government that faces uncertainty over an office-of-profit allegation that has been levelled against him by the BJP, according to PTI and media reports.

The Opposition BJP protested throughout the proceedings of the special one-day session and walked out moments before the confidence vote.

Addressing the House before the vote, Hemant accused the BJP of attempting a "civil war-like situation" in the country by fueling riots to win elections. He also alleged that his Assam counterpart, Himanta Biswa Sarma, was involved in "buying Jharkhand MLAs" in order to bring down his government.

"The Opposition has destroyed democracy. The BJP has been indulging in horse-trading of legislators... We will show our strength in the House," the chief minister said in the Assembly as MJP MLAs shouted slogans.

"We have heard of people buying clothes, ration, grocery. But only the BJP is into buying legislators," he alleged.

MLAs of the ruling coalition flew back into the state capital Ranchi on Sunday on a special flight from Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, where they were housed at a luxury resort to prevent poaching attempts.

The MLAs spent the night together at the state guest house and were taken to the state Assembly on Monday morning.

Hemant is faced with uncertainty over his continuance as chief minister following a petition by the BJP seeking his disqualification as an MLA in an office-of-profit case.

The Election Commission (EC) had communicated its opinion in this regard to Governor Ramesh Bais on August 25, sparking a political crisis in the state.

Though the EC's decision has not yet been made official, it is being speculated that the poll panel recommended the CM's disqualification as an MLA.

Hemant then expressed his willingness to move a motion of confidence to prove his majority, as per a letter sent to MLAs by the assembly secretariat.

The JMM-Congress-RJD alliance believes a trust vote would send the message to the people that the ruling combine was united despite the uncertainty over governor Ramesh Bais’s silence on the opinion the Election Commission submitted to him 10 days ago on the question of the disqualification of Soren as MLA in an office of profit case related to a mining lease that the chief minister has since surrendered.

Amid an intensifying crisis and allegations of BJP attempts of poaching to topple the government, the governor flew to Delhi on Friday.

Bais, who received the EC’s opinion on August 25, had sought it following a complaint by the BJP. Most of the MLAs of the ruling combine who had been shifted to a resort in Raipur in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh to ring-fence them from possible poaching were brought back to Ranchi in a chartered aircraft on Sunday evening and kept in a government facility.

The ruling alliance has 49 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly while the BJP has 26. All but three ruling MLAs, a Congress trio arrested in Bengal with Rs 49 lakh in cash that is suspected to be an incentive for defection, are expected to vote on Monday. The three MLAs have obtained bail but have been told not to leave Calcutta.