The Congress on Tuesday alleged discrepancies in the nomination papers of Parimal Nathwani, the BJP-backed independent candidate for the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand, and lodged a complaint with the returning officer.
Nathwani, a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, filed his nomination papers for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Monday, along with JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram and Congress candidate Pranav Jha.
The returning officer stayed his nomination and gave him a deadline of 11 am on Wednesday to resolve the objections, a BJP official said.
Nominations began on June 1 and concluded on Monday. An examination of the nomination papers was conducted on Tuesday, where the nominations of JMM and Congress candidates were found to be valid, an official said.
“There were several discrepancies in his (Nathwani’s) nomination papers, including a mistake in his name. As a nominee of our candidate Pranav Jha, I filed a complaint with the returning officer before the vetting process,” Congress MLA Naman Bhiksal Kunjari told PTI.
Despite repeated efforts, Returning Officer Ranjit Kumar could not be reached for comment on the matter.
However, a purported letter from the Jharkhand Assembly Secretariat to the independent candidate said that a complaint raising objections to his nomination paper had been filed, and his nomination was postponed till 11 am on Wednesday.
“A discrepancy has been reported in the nomination paper of Parimal Nathwani, the BJP-backed candidate in the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha elections. Hearing is underway on the complaint,” Congress observer for Jharkhand Rajya Sabha polls, Bhupesh Baghel, posted on X.
Baghel also said, “It remains to be seen whether this BJP-backed candidate will remain in the fray just because he has been given the protective shield of the BJP, or whether the same rules will also apply to him and unethical behavior will face defeat.”
But a close aide to Nthwani claimed that the objections raised had been resolved.
The last date to withdraw the nomination is June 11, while voting will take place on June 18.
To secure victory, a candidate must obtain at least 28 first preference votes.
In the Jharkhand Assembly, the India Caucus has 56 members, including 34 from JMM, 16 from Congress, four from RJD and two from CPI(ML) Liberation.
The NDA has 24 MLAs – 21 from the BJP and one each from the LJP (Ram Vilas), the AJSU and the JD(U). The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha has one MLA.
