Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren on Thursday took oath as the 14th chief minister of the state.

Soren, 49, was administered the oath by Governor Santosh Gangwar in Ranchi.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were also present at the ceremony.

This will be Soren’s fourth term as chief minister.

On November 24, a day after winning the Assembly elections, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader submitted his resignation to Gangwar and staked claim to form the government.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led alliance won 54 seats in the 81-seat Assembly. A party or coalition needs 41 seats to form the government.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha won 34 seats, the Congress won 16, Rashtriya Janata Dal secured four and the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) (Liberation) emerged victorious in two constituencies.

Soren retained the Barhait Assembly seat in the polls, defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Gamliyel Hembrom by more than 39,700 votes.

Soren took the oath alone. The expansion of Cabinet will take place after a vote of confidence in the Assembly, PTI quoted Congress leader Ghulam Ahmad Mir as saying.

Also read: Jharkhand election: 8 factors that helped JMM-led alliance to beat out the BJP

Later in the day, Soren announced that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Stephen Marandi had been chosen as the protem Speaker of the state Assembly, ANI reported. He also said that the first session of the Assembly would begin on December 9 and end on December 12.

Hours before taking the oath, Soren said in a social media post: “Today will be historic day”.

“Today is not about political victory, today is the day to reiterate our struggle for social justice, the daily battle to strengthen social unity,” he wrote in Hindi. “Today also tells us that the great people of Jharkhand are standing together amidst the increasing pressure on democracy. Today, a voice is resonating in every village, every city - rights, equality, unity means the voice of Jharkhandiyat.”