A political slugfest has started in Jharkhand between the Mahagathbandhan allies, Congress, RJD and CPI (ML) after BJP-supported candidate Parimal Nathwani won the Rajya Sabha elections while Congress candidate Pranav Jha lost due to cross-voting.

Congress in-charge K Raju said that the Congress candidate lost due to betrayal by the CPI(ML) and RJD. State Congress minister Deepika Pandey also alleged betrayal, saying, "Dhoka Hua." (We were betrayed).

The accusations irked CPI-ML, which hit back at the grand old party, saying both its MLAs voted for Jha, but Congress failed to secure the votes of its own MLAs.

In a post on X, CPI-ML said, "Both MLAs of the CPI(ML) have, as decided, voted for the Congress candidate. The party's authorised agent and senior leader for this election, PBM Haladhar Mahto, and CCM Geeta Mandal, have duly verified the votes cast by the CPI(ML) MLAs."

"Jharkhand Rajya Sabha voting outcome makes it clear that Congress failed to secure the support of all its own MLAs. Before pointing fingers at others, larger parties should first look within," the party added.

ALSO READ: Jharkhand Rajya Sabha Polls: Cross-Voting Dents Congress As NDA-Backed Candidate Wins; One Seat Goes To JMM

"Those making such statements to protect their party or leadership are damaging the credibility of CPI(ML) and all those legislators who voted in good faith for the Congress candidate. This is not merely an attempt to malign CPI(ML), but an effort that harms the image of the entire INDIA alliance," the CPI(ML) added.

Rashtriya Janata Dal also slammed Congress for accusing their leaders. RJD legislative party leader Suresh Paswan claimed that all party MLAs voted for the Congress candidate.

He said that the RJD has always been an opposition party to the BJP. K Raju's remarks are based on a lack of knowledge of Jharkhand politics, Paswan added.

What did happen in Jharkhand Rajya Sabha polls?

The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly has 81 members, out of which 56 belong to the JMM-led ruling alliance. As the quota for the Rajya Sabha election was 28, the ruling alliance was comfortable to win both seats, one JMM candidate and one Congress.

ALSO READ: From Classroom To Rajya Sabha: How Jharkhand Teacher-Turned-Politician Baidyanath Ram Journeyed From Latehar To Delhi

NDA, on the other hand, had only 24 MLAs, 4 fewer than the magic number. Due to cross-voting, NDA-backed Nathwani polled 30 votes, but two were declared invalid. He got 28 valid votes and won the elections.

Since RJD has 4 MLAs and CPI-ML has 2, the Congress leader indicated that the additional six votes to Nathwani were allegedly given by RJD, CPI-ML, which triggered an infighting within the alliance.