Ranchi, May 25 (PTI) The Jharkhand BJP on Monday announced that it would contest the Rajya Sabha elections in the state and would field a candidate for one seat in the upper house of Parliament.
Elections for two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand will be held on June 18.
The decision to field a candidate in one Rajya Sabha seat was taken during the state BJP election committee meeting, chaired by party state president Aditya Sahu.
“During the meeting, the party has decided to field its candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in Jharkhand,” BJP state general secretary Amar Kumar Bauri told reporters after the meeting.
Bauri said the party is fielding its candidate not merely to contest the election, but to ensure victory.
The Election Commission on May 22 announced polls for 24 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states, including two in Jharkhand on June 18.
Of the two seats in Jharkhand, one fell vacant following the death of JMM senior leader Shibu Soren, while the second seat, currently held by BJP leader Deepak Prakash, will complete his six-year term on June 21.
Currently, the BJP-led NDA has 24 members in the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, including 21 from the BJP and one each from the LJP (Ram Vilas), AJSU Party, and JD(U), while the INDIA bloc has 56 members, including 34 from JMM, 16 from Congress, 4 from RJD, and 2 from CPI(ML) Liberation. Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha has one member.
“Out of the 81 votes, we need to secure 28 votes for victory—and we will certainly obtain them,” Bauri claimed.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on Monday wrote to the Election Commission expressing apprehensions over possible “horse trading” by the opposition in the election.
The party, in its letter, mentioned, “In the Jharkhand State Legislative Assembly, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has a total of only 21 members. Despite the Leader of the Opposition, Babulal Marandi, and the BJP State President, Aditya Sahu, have publicly announced that they will field a candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election scheduled for June 18.
It further said a candidate proposed for the Rajya Sabha is declared victorious upon securing the first-preference votes of a minimum of 28 members of the Legislative Assembly.
“Therefore, given that we have 56 members in our bloc, the election of two members to the Rajya Sabha is assured,” the letter stated. PTI SAN RG
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