All the PM's men

The coal portfolio has been given to Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Shibu Soren.

Soren, who returned to the Union Council of Ministers, is widely regarded as the doyen of the movement for creation of Jharkhand state.

But, Soren's chequered political career has had its share of controversies. He became embroiled in a number of criminal cases, among them was the Chirudi murder case in Jamtara in 1975, which cost him the portfolio of Union coal minister in Dr Singh's government. He was also accused in JMM bribery case during the P V Narasimha Rao regime in which he was later acquitted.

The former chief minister was born into a Santhal school teacher's family at Nemra village under Gola police station in Hazaribagh district in 1944. He founded the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, a major political party in the state, in 1972 and became its general secretary.

President A P J Abdul Kalam administers oath of office to JMM leader Shibu Soren.

Photograph: AFP/Getty Images