Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Executive President Hemant Soren on Thursday returned to the chief minister’s post after spending nearly five months in jail.

Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Thursday administered the oath of office to him, hours after inviting him to form the state government.

Hemant Soren had quit as the chief minister on January 31, hours before the Enforcement Directorate arrested him in a money-laundering case. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Champai Soren then replaced him as the chief minister.

Champai Soren resigned from the post on Wednesday, 152 days after taking oath.

The Jharkhand High Court had on June 28 granted bail to Hemant Soren in the money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, noting that there was “no reason to believe” that he was guilty of the alleged offence.

Subsequently, he was released from the Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi.

After resigning on Wednesday, Champai Soren told reporters: “You know the sequence of events. After Hemant Soren came back, we [the coalition] picked him as our leader and I have resigned. I am following the decision taken by the coalition.”