Soon after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Champai Soren was sworn in as the chief minister of the state on Friday, MLAs of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition was flown to Hyderabad from Ranchi in a bid to avoid "poaching".
A senior leader of the coalition said the decision to shift the MLAs to Hyderabad was taken to avoid the possibility of the opposition BJP poaching them ahead of the floor test.
"We were given 10 days to prove the government's majority. We can't take any chance during the period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs," the senior leader told news agency PTI.
"As many as 38 MLAs flew to Hyderabad. Several others stayed back," Congress leader Banna Gupta, whose party is a constituent of the ruling alliance, said.
According to news agency ANI, JMM and Congress MLAs arrived at a private resort in Hyderabad. AICC Telangana in-charge Deepa Das Munshi and state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar received the MLAs.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam said the Champai Soren-led coalition government in Jharkhand will seek trust vote on February 5.
"The floor test to prove majority by the JMM-led alliance in the state will be held on February 5 on the first day of a two-day assembly session," PTI quoted him as saying.
