Ranchi/New Delhi, Jan. 8: Jharkhand chief minister Arjun Munda handed over his resignation to Governor Syed Ahmed today and recommended dissolution of the Assembly, hours after Shibu Soren led JMM MLAs to Raj Bhavan and conveyed their decision to withdraw support to the BJP-led coalition.

Ahmed, who asked Munda to continue as caretaker chief minister, did not indicate when, or if at all, he would go by the recommendation to dissolve the House, paving the way for fresh elections in the politically turbulent state.

But both the JMM and the Congress questioned Munda’s right to offer such “recommendations” at a time when his government had been reduced to a minority.

All eyes are now, therefore, on Raj Bhavan. Indications are that Ahmed will not take a decision in a hurry. “The governor will take appropriate action on time as per constitutional provisions,” said his principal secretary, Aditya Swaroop.

“I have run the government with stability for the last two years,” Munda told a group of journalists near Raj Bhavan. “Dissolution of the House and seeking a fresh mandate is the alternative at present.”

The effects of the rumblings were felt in Delhi as well. Congress president Sonia Gandhi convened a meeting of senior leaders tonight to discuss the political situation in Jharkhand amid pressure from the state unit to form an alternative coalition.

Though party leaders insisted the next step would be contemplated only after studying the nature of the recommendation made by the governor, sources revealed Sonia gave the go-ahead to the state leadership to explore the possibility of a viable alternative.