Ranchi, Jun 15 (PTI) The NDA on Monday claimed that all 81 MLAs of Jharkhand will vote according to their conscience during the June 18 Rajya Sabha election, and expressed confidence in the victory of the BJP-backed Independent candidate, though the opposition coalition does not have numbers in the state assembly.
A meeting of the ruling INDIA bloc legislators will be held on June 16 and 17 to chart the strategy for the polls, the Congress’s Jharkhand affairs in-charge K Raju said.
JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram, Congress nominee Pranav Jha and BJP-supported Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani are contesting for the two Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
A candidate is required to secure a minimum of 28 first-preference votes to emerge victorious.
The BJP-led NDA with 24 MLAs cannot make Nathwani a winner in the polls, unless there is cross-voting, a ruling party legislator said.
In the Jharkhand Assembly, the INDIA bloc has 56 members.
The BJP claimed that the NDA members are united and are confident of the victory of its supported candidate.
During the NDA legislatures’ party meeting, chaired by Jharkhand BJP chief Aditya Sahu, various strategies were discussed for the Rajya Sabha polls, a party statement said.
Nathwani, along with AJSU party chief Sudesh Mahto and state LJP (Ram Vilas) president Birendra Pradhan, was present in the meeting.
Jaiswal said Nathwani is an independent candidate, and all 81 MLAs in the state assembly are voters in this election.
“He (Nathwani) is reaching out to all parties, and everyone has confidence in his track record. He previously served the state as an MP twice. On June 18, all MLAs will vote according to their own judgment and the voice of their conscience, and Parimal Nathwani will secure victory for the third time,” Jaiswal added.
BJP state general secretary Amar Kumar Bauri wondered why the Congress was scared if the party has the required numbers.
The Congress had held protests over alleged discrepancies in Nathwani’s nomination papers and demanded cancellation of his candidature. However, the returning officer rejected the demand.
A five-member Congress delegation led by Raju and the party’s state unit president, Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, met Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday to discuss strategies for the polls.
“We had a fruitful meeting with the chief minister. A meeting of legislators from the ruling parties has been called on June 16 and 17, where every strategy regarding the Rajya Sabha polls will be discussed,” Raju told reporters.
He said they also decided to conduct a mock poll during the meeting, so there is no confusion among the legislators regarding the voting exercise.
Exuding confidence that the INDIA bloc will win both Rajya Sabha seats, Raju said, “The RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation have confirmed their support to INDIA bloc candidates in the election.” One of the Rajya Sabha seats in the state fell vacant following the death of JMM co-founder Shibu Soren. The other vacancy is due to the completion of BJP member Deepak Prakash’s tenure on June 21.
In the Jharkhand Assembly, the INDIA bloc has 56 members, comprising 34 from the JMM, 16 from the Congress, four from the RJD and two from CPI(ML) Liberation.
The NDA has 24 MLAs — 21 from the BJP and one each from the LJP (Ram Vilas), AJSU Party and the JD(U). The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha has one MLA. PTI SAN NSD NN
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