Arjun Munda resigns as Jharkhand CM

Political crisis in Jharkhand deepened as Chief Minister Arjun Munda on Tuesday submitted his resignation to Governor Syed Ahmed after Shibu Soren's Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) formally withdrew support from the government.

Confirming the news, Munda told media: "I have submitted my resignation to the Governor."

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Jharkhand earlier in the day convened a cabinet meeting and recommended the dissolution of the state Assembly, reports said.

JMM´s five ministers were not present at the meeting.

The JMM on Monday withdrew its support from the government over differences in connection to the rotation policy of the chief ministerial post.

Soren on Tuesday met the Governor to formally withdraw support and said they will try to form a new government in the state.

The JMM´s decision to withdraw support had reduced Munda-led BJP government to a minority one.

The relationship between the BJP and the JMM had been deteriorating after Munda in his written reply to the JMM on Jan 3, negated any rotation policy deal between the two parties to share power after 28 months in office.

Soren had earlier warned the BJP that the party would quit the coalition government if the chief minister´s post was not handed over to the JMM as a part of the agreement, reports said.

The JMM and the BJP have 18 MLAs each in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, where the majority mark is 42.

Six Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) members and two Janata Dal-United (JD-U) members also supported the coalition government.