NEW DELHI: In a closely contested election for the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha seats, National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani emerged victorious for one of the two positions. The contest saw intense rivalry between the ruling and opposition camps, with the outcome remaining uncertain until the final count.
During the polls, which witnessed cross-voting, Nathwani secured 28 votes, comfortably surpassing Congress candidate Pranav, who received 20 votes. The other seat was won by Baidyanath Ram, the candidate from the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
Ram garnered 30 votes in the election, while three votes—two from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one from the Congress—were declared invalid, an official told news agency PTI.
Reacting to the results, Congress minister Deepika Pandey expressed disappointment, stating, "dhoka hua" (Betrayed). In contrast, BJP's Koderma MLA Neera Yadav celebrated, saying, "Jai Shree Ram, hogaya kaam."
The BJP-led NDA, with 24 MLAs in the 81-member assembly, was four votes short of the minimum 28 first-preference votes required to secure a Rajya Sabha seat. The ruling INDIA bloc, comprising the JMM and Congress, entered the polls with 56 members, enough to win two seats. However, what should have been a straightforward election for the bloc turned into a fierce contest when the NDA decided to field an independent candidate despite lacking the numbers to win a seat on its own.
Both camps took extensive measures to prevent cross-voting. The NDA moved its MLAs to a hotel in Ranchi on Tuesday, while the INDIA bloc held meetings with its legislators to ensure loyalty. On Tuesday night, INDIA bloc MLAs, including those from Congress, participated in a mock poll at Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence to familiarize new legislators with the voting process, but their efforts proved futile.
