Hafizul Hassan, elder son of JMM minister Haji Hussain Ansari who died last year, was sworn in as a minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet on Friday at Raj Bhavan in the presence of a host of dignitaries, including chief minister Hemant Soren, some of his cabinet colleagues and JMM patriarch Shibu Soren.
JMM sources said that the sudden decision to induct Hassan into the cabinet was to pre-empt the party’s alliance partners Congress and RJD to stake claim to the Madhupur Assembly seat that was vacated after the demise of Haji Hussain in October last year after recovering from a bout of Covid.
The induction of Hafizul, who is yet to become an MLA, would make him the natural JMM candidate for the Madhupur seat where a byelection is likely to be held in the next few months.
After he was administered the oath of office by Governor Draupadi Murmu, Hafizul admitted he had not been told about his ministerial portfolio.
He said he would follow his father's footsteps to serve the people. "My father lived a very simple life despite holding high offices in his career and was dedicated to serve the people of this state. I too will follow his preachings," he said thanking Hemant Soren and the JMM for giving him this opportunity.
Governor Draupadi Murmu (centre), flanked by chief minister Hemant Soren and his father Shibu Soren, along with state ministers, after the swearing in of Hafizul Hassan at Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Friday. Telegraph picture
On his priorities, the new minister said he was aware that the people of Madhupur have for long been demanding a separate subdivision. "Yes, this has been a long pending demand… I will try to make it a reality now," he added.
Governor Murmu was in her home state of Odisha and returned to Ranchi around 10am on Friday just in time for the swearing in, Raj Bhavan sources said.
After winning the 2019 Assembly polls, the JMM-Congress-RJD alliance distributed ministries on a 6-4-1 formula in a 12-member cabinet, leaving one seat vacant. Following Haji's death, two seats were vacant. Of these, one was finalised on Friday.
Hafizul’s father, the Late Haji Hussain Ansari, had won the Madhupur seat in Santhal Parganas four times since he first contested on a JMM ticket in 1995. After beginning his career with Congress, Haji joined JMM in 1990 and stayed on with the party until his death last year. He was also the first Muslim to become a minister in the state after the formation of Jharkhand in 2000.
On the hurried swearing in, a JMM source iterated that the Madhupur Assembly seat belonged to the JMM. "The RJD has already begun raising demands to field it's candidate at Madhupur. Although, a formal proposal was yet to be placed by our alliance partners, but there have been media reports quoting their leaders in this regard. It got vacated after Haji's demise. So, there is no question of JMM not fielding it's own candidate on behalf of the alliance," he explained.
Another JMM leader added, "During the Bihar Assembly polls, despite being our coalition partners in Jharkhand, RJD did not accommodate us. Hence, we fought solo on about half a dozen seats but lost. In Jharkhand, JMM is the dominant force."
