Administrator
18 June 2026
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was seen interacting and sipping tea with BJP legislators at the Ranchi Assembly Cafeteria during voting for the two Rajya Sabha seats.
Setting aside intense political rivalry, the casual interaction sparked widespread discussion in state political circles regarding potential shifts in equations.
In a major embarrassment for the Congress, the party has lost the second Rajya Sabha seat. Why?
This was witnessed in Jharkhand on June 18 mainly because of cross-voting by INDIA bloc allies RJD and CPI(M-L) Liberation.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Baidyanath Ram, a former minister, clearly won, with the second seat going to BJP-backed Independent Parimal Nathwani.
In the 81-member Assembly, a candidate required 28 first-preference votes to win. Ram got 30 votes while Nathwani, a Gujarat-based businessman, secured 28. It is learnt that four MLAs of the RJD and two of the CPI(M-L) Liberation voted for Nathwani.
The Congress’s Pranav Jha could manage to get only 20 votes. Nathwani got 30 votes, but two were found to be invalid, while one vote that went to Jha was declared invalid.
The JMM-led alliance has a total of 56 MLAs. The JMM alone has 34 MLAs. Against requirement of 28 first preference votes, 30 JMM MLAs cast votes for their candidate Baidyanath Ram. Had there been no cross-voting, I.ND.I.A block both two candidates would have sailed through. This did not happen causing a major set back to the Congress.
Nathwani was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand in 2014.In fact, Nathwani has highlighted his work in Jharkhand through MPLADS-funded projects, village development initiatives and infrastructure works.
Over the years, Nathwani has built relationships across party lines in Jharkhand, leading to speculation that he could attract support beyond the NDA’s official numbers. Before this election, he had met Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, before eventually securing the NDA’s backing.
