Thursday, September 14 2006 15:01 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ranchi: UPA will announce its chief minister for Jharkhand within a day, Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay said here today (Sept 14, 2006).

"The UPA will decide who will be the new chief minister of Jharkhand within the next 24 hours," he told reporters minutes after incumbent Chief Minister Arjun Munda announced his resignation before the confidence motion was put to vote.

Sahay said the UPA did not pull down the government.

"We are not the initiators. We have not pulled down this government," he said.

Munda's announcement came as it was clear that the Chief Minister had lost majority with 43 MLAs sitting on the side of the opposition UPA as against 38 members in the treasury benches in a House of 82.

Jharkhand plunged into political crisis after four ministers quit BJP leader Arjun Munda-led government on September five and withdrew support to it.