Elections are scheduled for two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand. According to the statistical calculations, both seats will fall to the ruling alliance. Interestingly, pressure politics has begun within the alliance itself. On Thursday evening (June 4th), the Congress Party announced its candidates without the consent of JMM chief and state Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Following this, Chief Minister Hemant Soren called an emergency meeting of party MLAs and ministers on Friday (June 5th). The Rajya Sabha election strategy was discussed in detail.
Following the meeting, it was reported that all MLAs and ministers unanimously supported fielding JMM candidates for both Rajya Sabha seats. However, the party has not yet announced the names of the candidates and a final decision is pending.
It was stated that a decision regarding the Rajya Sabha elections would be made on June 5th. However, before that, the Congress Party announced its national president’s advisor, Pranav Jha, as its Rajya Sabha candidate. It is believed that the Congress’s intention behind this move was to exert pressure on the JMM.
On the other hand, following this move by the Congress, the JMM called all its MLAs late at night, stating that the Chief Minister had called an important meeting to discuss the Rajya Sabha elections. Chief Minister Hemant Soren met with almost all JMM MLAs and decided that the JMM would field candidates for both seats. After the meeting, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Central General Secretary, Vinod Pandey, stated that all JMM MLAs and ministers had conveyed their sentiments and that the president would take a decision on this matter soon.
The Congress’s gamble on the JMM by announcing its candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections on Thursday backfired. Based on the current number of MLAs in the Assembly, the Congress appears to be in trouble. The Congress party has 16 MLAs. To win, the support of 28 first-preference MLAs is necessary. This means that Congress will have to garner 12 more MLAs, which currently seems unlikely. The ruling coalition has four MLAs from the RJD and two from the CPI(ML). RJD also has a minister in the government, so it’s clear that they cannot join Congress under any circumstances.
In Jharkhand, the opposition alliance has 24 MLAs, including 21 from the BJP, one each from the JDU, LJP, and AJSU. The BJP will need to secure four MLAs to achieve the magic number of victory. The current situation raises the possibility that second-preference votes could once again be decisive.
Meetings and strategic discussions are underway among political parties regarding the Rajya Sabha elections. The electoral picture is expected to become clearer with the release of candidate names in the coming days.