Ranchi:
The Congress has decided to ally with regional party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) to stake claim to form the government in Jharkhand.
The President's rule expires on July 17.
The agreement offers the post of the Chief Minister to Hemant Soren, the son of JMM chief Shibu Soren. In exchange, the JMM will reportedly allow the Congress to contest 10 of the 14 parliamentary seats from the state.
The agreement between the two parties will extend to five states including Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar.
The Congress is likely to get five ministries in the Jharkhand government. Lalu Prasad Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD, will get two, said sources, in exchange for his support.
President's Rule was imposed in Jharkhand on January 18 following the resignation of Chief Minister Arjun Munda. That brought down the BJP and JMM coalition that had governed the state for about two years.
This will be the ninth government in the 12-year-old state, which has also seen two stints of President's rule since 2000. The longest serving government lasted two-and-a-half years and the shortest, a bare 11 days.