Ranchi, Jun 8 (PTI) JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram and Congress nominee Pranav Jha on Monday filed their nominations for two Rajya Sabha seats in the state going to polls on June 18.
Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh Parimal Nathwani also filed his nomination papers as an Independent candidate for the elections, exuding confidence of winning the polls with support from the BJP and other political parties in Jharkhand.
INDIA bloc nominees Ram and Jha filed their nominations at the Assembly in the presence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, CPI (ML) Liberation MLA Arup Chatterjee and RJD legislator Suresh Paswan.
Nathwani, who had been a two-term Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand between 2008 and 2020, filed his papers in the presence of BJP’s Ranchi MLA CP Singh and Hatia legislator Naveen Jaiswal.
The nomination papers were submitted to Assembly Secretary Ranjit Kumar, officials said.
Both the ruling alliance candidates claimed they will register victories in the two seats, as the ruling alliance has the required numbers to win the polls.
“We are confident of winning both the Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand as we have the required numbers,” Ram told reporters after filing his nomination.
Jha said he will win with the support of INDIA bloc legislators.
One of the Rajya Sabha seats in the state fell vacant following the death of JMM co-founder Shibu Soren. The other vacancy is because BJP member Deepak Prakash is scheduled to complete his six-year term on June 21.
“I have to work for Jharkhand, and I did during my past two tenures. On the basis of my work in the state, I will seek support from all political parties. BJP has extended its support, I met Chief Minister Hemant Soren and also sought support from Congress MLAs,” Nathwani told reporters on the Assembly premises after filing the nomination.
He said, “Jharkhand has been my Karma Bhoomi, and I have worked in all sectors in the state. If I get another chance, I will work more for the state.” Earlier, Jharkhand BJP had announced to field a candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in the state.
“After a discussion with top party leaders, we had decided to field a candidate for one of the two seats in the state. But later, we decided to withdraw the proposal as we do not have required numbers in the state assembly to win a seat. For victory, a candidate is required to secure a minimum of 28 first-preference votes. The BJP has only 21 members in the Assembly and the NDA has 24,” state BJP president Aditya Sahu told reporters.
He said Nathwani sought BJP’s support in the polls.
“After a discussion, we decided to extend support to him. Nathwani had been a Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand earlier,” Sahu said.
State Congress in-charge K Raju alleged that BJP wanted to encourage ‘horse trading’ by backing Nathwani.
He claimed that INDIA bloc members are intact and both the candidates of the ruling alliance will win the polls.
The nomination process for the elections commenced on June 1 and concluded on Monday. Polling will be held on June 18.
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). Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha has one MLA. PTI NAM/SAN ACD SAN MNB
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