Jharkhand Rajya Sabha Result: Jharkhand politics has turned into a blame game among Mahagathbandhan allies Congress, RJD and CPI (ML) after BJP-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani won the Rajya Sabha election, while Congress nominee Pranav Jha suffered a shock defeat due to cross-voting. The ruling alliance managed to secure only one seat, which was won by JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram.
The most surprising aspect of the election was that the INDIA bloc enjoys the support of 56 MLAs in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly. Since only 28 votes were required to secure a Rajya Sabha seat, the alliance was comfortably placed to win both seats. However, cross-voting by some legislators upset the calculations and led to the Congress candidate's defeat.
56 MLAs, Yet Congress Lost: Vote Breakdown
- Baidyanath Ram (JMM): 30 votes
- Parimal Nathwani (Independent, BJP-backed): 28 votes
- Pranav Jha (Congress): 20 votes
Three votes were declared invalid, including two from the BJP and one from Congress.
Why Did Congress's Strategy Fail?
Within the INDIA alliance, JMM has 34 MLAs, Congress 16, RJD 4, and CPI (ML) 2. Congress has alleged that MLAs from the RJD and CPI (ML) did not vote for its candidate.
According to Congress, all 16 of its MLAs remained united and voted for Pranav Jha. The party further claimed that four JMM MLAs also backed the Congress nominee but alleged that its other alliance partners failed to support him.
Congress in-charge K. Raju said the party candidate lost due to betrayal by the CPI (ML) and RJD. State minister Deepika Pandey also alleged betrayal, saying, "Dhoka hua" (betrayal happened). "We were betrayed."
The accusations drew a sharp response from CPI (ML), which claimed that both its MLAs voted for Jha and alleged that Congress had failed to keep its own flock together.
Deepika Pandey Singh further accused the BJP of using money power and engaging in horse-trading. Meanwhile, Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju directly blamed the RJD and CPI (ML) for withholding support from the Congress candidate.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal also hit back at Congress for targeting its leaders. RJD Legislature Party leader Suresh Paswan maintained that all four RJD MLAs voted for the Congress nominee.
Celebrations In NDA Camp
While the NDA had only 24 MLAs in the Assembly, Nathwani managed to secure enough support to win. The BJP said legislators voted according to their "voice of conscience". Jharkhand BJP President Aditya Sahu described the result as a major victory and claimed that even some INDIA bloc MLAs had expressed faith in the work of the Modi government.
The Jharkhand Legislative Assembly has 81 members, of whom 56 belong to the JMM-led ruling alliance. With the winning quota fixed at 28 votes, the alliance was expected to comfortably secure both seats, one for JMM and one for Congress.
The NDA, on the other hand, had only 24 MLAs, four short of the required number. However, cross-voting altered the outcome. Nathwani received 30 votes, though two were declared invalid, leaving him with 28 valid votes, which are enough to secure victory.
Since the RJD has four MLAs and CPI (ML) has two, Congress leaders suggested that the six additional votes Nathwani required may have come from these parties, triggering a fresh round of infighting within the INDIA alliance.