Jamshedpur, Aug. 29: The nondescript village of Dhatkidih at Chandil in adjoining Seraikela-Kharsawan district suddenly woke up to festivities this morning.

Though the sky was overcast, the mood of the residents of the village on the foothills of Dalma hills was upbeat and the area reverberated with the beats of drums.

Villagers, including men and women, danced to tribal music and some people were seen distributing sweets as the cry of “Shibu Soren zindabad” resonated. The villagers later took out a procession in Chandil with drums and smeared gulal on each other’s face at the Chandil market.

Dhatkidih villagers, where Soren’s in-laws live, were celebrating today as the confidence motion was moved on the floor of the Assembly. Soren’s brother-in-law Gurucharan Kisku was bemused. “The proceedings of the confidence motion is on and Soren will definitely emerge victorious at the end of the day. Today is the most happening day for me and other tribals,” Gurucharan said.

He said he had celebrated Soren’s swearing-in ceremony as chief minister in 2005, but the joy was short-lived as Soren had to step down as he lost the confidence motion on the floor of Assembly.

“But today the number game is in favour of Soren. I am confident he will sail through the confidence motion,” said Gurucharan, who runs a shop under the public distribution system at Chandil.

Gurucharan, who himself is a member of the JMM central committee, said that the state would pro- gress under the leadership of Soren because “he knows every inch of Jharkhand and knows how to tackle the socio-economic problems that the state is facing”.

According to Suresh Besra, a villager, Soren was the fittest chief ministerial candidate from the very beginning as “he has made the most sacrifices during the prolonged agitation for a separate Jharkhand state”.