Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister

NEW DELHI: A top Indian opposition leader is set to return as chief minister of Jharkhand state, days after he was released from prison on bail, a key party official said Wednesday.

Hemant Soren, 48, who was arrested and jailed in February on corruption charges, was granted bail on June 28 in the eastern state.

Before being taken into custody, Hemant had stepped down from his position, handing over the reins to party colleague Champai Soren. The two men are not related.

On Wednesday evening, Champai, 61, in a widely expected move, tendered his resignation to the state´s governor.

“We had a change in leadership at that time, so I got the responsibility,” Champai told reporters.

“Now that he is back, our alliance has chosen him as our leader, and I have resigned from my post.”

Hemant heads a party that is part of the opposition alliance that fought Prime Minister Narendra Modi´s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the weeks-long election that concluded last month.

He was arrested by the financial investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate, in an alleged land scam probe.

He denies the charges, and his allies claim the arrest was politically motivated in a bid to weaken the opposition for the election.

Jharkhand state has a population of around 32 million people, according to India´s 2011 census.

A month after Hemant was detained, another key opposition figure, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested by the same law enforcement agency.

He was released from detention to campaign partway through the election, but returned to jail after voting ended and remains behind bars.