RANCHI: The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections appear to have created cracks in the Congress’ alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), after lawmakers of the ruling party in Jharkhand on Friday demanded that the party contest both the seats in the polls, a day after the Congress announced senior party functionary Pranav Jha as its candidate for one of the two seats.
This development comes a day after the Congress announced seven candidates and the Bharatiya Janata Party nominated 11 candidates for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections. Among the leading candidates in the Congress was Kharg’s media director for all practical purposes – Pranav Jha – who was rewarded with a Rajya Sabha ticket from Jharkhand.
However, a day after the Congress announcement, Chief Minister Hemant Soren chaired a meeting of JMM legislators in Ranchi on Friday. “Today I participated in a meeting in Ranchi with honorable ministers and JMM members in connection with the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections,” Soren said.
After the meeting, state Minority Welfare and Water Resources Minister Hafeez Al Hasan told reporters that JMM will field candidates for both the seats. “JMM will finalize the names of the candidates soon,” he said.
“JMM will field its candidates for both the Rajya Sabha seats. Party workers and leaders have not only expressed their desire but also expressed their consensus to field our candidates in both the seats. The party president will finalize the names of candidates for both the seats,” said Water and Sanitation Minister Yogendra Yadav, who also attended the meeting.
The developments assume significance as JMM leaders had earlier indicated that a collective decision will be taken on the Rajya Sabha elections on June 5.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting with Jha, Jharkhand Congress in-charge K Raju said they would ensure victory of both candidates from the India Bloc.
“The alliance has the support of 56 legislators in the Assembly, which is enough for both the candidates to win. This issue was discussed in the PAC meeting, where we all decided to work with our allies and ensure the victory of both the candidates,” Raju said.
Regarding the non-committal stand of JMM leaders on supporting the Congress candidate and fielding candidates for both the seats, Raju said they would meet the Prime Minister soon to chalk out a future action plan. The legislative party will meet tonight. “After that, we will try to meet the Chief Minister along with our MLAs and chalk out a winning plan for both the candidates,” Raju added.
Meanwhile, JMM maintained that it was “hurt” by the unilateral decision taken by the Congress leadership to nominate its candidate and urged party president Hemant Soren to field candidates for both the seats.
“The alliance led our Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in 2024. People have put their trust in the leadership of Hemant Soren. Therefore, even the Rajya Sabha elections will be held under his leadership. Today, all the party leaders apprised him of the sentiments of the party workers who want candidates from the party for both the seats. We have authorized the President to take all the factors into consideration and take a decision accordingly,” JMM general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya told reporters after a meeting. For the party headed by Surin.
Discontent is brewing in the MP’s unit
The Congress’ nomination of former MP Meenakshi Natarajan for the Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh has sparked reactions from within the party, with some party leaders openly criticizing the top leadership’s choice.
“The party has made a huge mistake in selecting the Rajya Sabha candidate from Madhya Pradesh. Cross-voting remains a serious concern and we have urged caution in selecting candidates,” senior Congress leader from Bhopal, Naresh Gyanchandani, posted on X, tagging Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
“When other parties chose candidates based on future prospects, the Congress renominated a candidate who had hardly any vote base. A popular leader would have boosted morale,” said a senior leader from Vindhya district, speaking on condition of anonymity. The leader added that he had written to the top leadership of Congress asking to rethink the decision.
Another Congress leader from Malwa echoed this view and described the move as “suicidal”.
Elections to fill 24 seats that became vacant will be held on June 18. Of the 24 seats, the BJP has 12, the Congress has four, the YSRCP three and the TDP one. The National Democratic Alliance, which is already the largest coalition in the Senate, expects its numbers to increase after this round of elections.
