Hemant Soren is set to return as Jharkhand chief minister almost five months after he resigned following his arrest on money-laundering charges by the Enforcement Directorate.

Senior JMM leader Champai Soren has been the chief minister since February 2 after Hemant stepped down on January 31 following his arrest. On Wednesday, Hemant was unanimously elected the JMM legislative party leader at a meeting where Champai and other senior leaders were present. The move was endorsed by allies Congress and RJD.

Champai, accompanied by Hemant, Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav, Congress state president Rajesh Thakur, RJD MLA Satyanand Bhokta and CPI-ML MLA Binod Singh, met governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday evening and tendered his resignation as chief minister.

“A few days ago, I was made the chief minister and I got the responsibility of the state. After Hemant Soren was back, our alliance took this decision and we chose Hemant Soren as our leader. Now, I have resigned from the post of chief minister,” Champai told reporters after stepping down from the post.

Subsequently, Hemant staked claim to form the government with the support of his coalition partners and the CPI-ML MLA. The governor informed Hemant that a date would be set on Thursday for his swearing-in.

Sources said the JMM’s plan to reinstate Hemant as the chief minister got a boost when two senior BJP leaders in Ranchi told the ruling party late on Monday afternoon that the Opposition party would not create any hurdles as Hemant’s arrest had “backfired” for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP lost all five seats reserved for STs, including Dumka, Lohardaga and Khunti that it had won in 2019.

“Hemant Soren was apprehensive that if the governor, at the behest of the BJP, delays the formation of the government against the backdrop of the possibility of the Assembly elections in Jharkhand being advanced, it could delay the implementation of development projects, especially if the Model Code of Conduct comes into effect,” said a close aide of Hemant and a member of the JMM central executive committee. The polls are scheduled to be held in November-December.

“However, on Monday, two senior Ranchi-based BJP leaders told Hemantji that during the party’s Lok Sabha poll review meetings, it had been pointed out that his arrest had boomeranged and led to the consolidation of tribal votes against the BJP. This message has been sent to the BJP’s central leadership, which has indirectly accepted that going into the Assembly polls, the party would not invite further resentment among tribals by disturbing government formation,” the JMM leader said.

“It was then that the decision was taken to call a meeting of the ruling coalition MLAs on Wednesday at the residence of chief minister Champai Soren. The meeting was chaired by Hemantji,” the leader added.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Congress state in-charge Ghulam Mir and party state president Rajesh Thakur were also present.

While granting him bail on June 28, Jharkhand High Court had noted that there was reason to believe that he was “not guilty of the offence as alleged”.

Political columnist Faisal Anurag said on Wednesday: “Elections in Jharkhand are months away and the JMM is looking to fight the polls with Hemant Soren as its face. But the decision to replace Champai Soren will provide the Opposition BJP with ammunition in the run-up to the polls and strengthen its dynasty narrative.”

Setting the tone for the BJP’s offensive, Godda MP Nishikant Dubey said on social media that the “Champai Soren era is over in Jharkhand”.

Targeting the JMM, he said: “In the family-oriented party, people outside the family have no political future. I wish the chief minister drew inspiration from Bhagwan Birsa Munda and stood up against the corrupt Hemant Soren ji.”