Ranchi, Sep 7 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have once again joined hands in Jharkhand to stake claim to form the government, with Arjun Munda likely to be the next chief minister, sources say.

They will meet Jharkhand Governor M.O.H farook at 1 p.m. to stake claim. Jharkhand has been under President's Rule since June 1 after Shibu Soren resigned May 30.

Jharkhand BJP legislature party leader Raghubar Das has resigned from his post. 'I have resigned from the legislature party leader's post on the directive of the BJP president. The new leader will be elected Tuesday,' Raghubar das told IANS.

According to sources in the BJP, after the leader's election, the BJP will stake claim to form the government. Arjun Munda of the BJP is likely to be the next chief minister, sources say.

According to sources in the BJP, the JMM and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) have extended support to the party to form the government in the state. In the 81-member assembly, the BJP and the JMM have 18 seats each and the AJSU has five seats.

The Janata Dal-United's (JD-U) two legislators and two independents, according to sources, have also extended support to the BJP. The BJP, therefore, enjoys the support of 45 legislators in the 81-member assembly.

-Indo-Asian News Service

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