All preparations have been completed for elections to two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Thursday, which are being contested by three candidates, an official said.
The opposition BJP-led NDA has decided to support an independent candidate, despite not having the required number of MLAs in the assembly.
Three candidates – JMM’s Badyanath Ram, Congress’ Pranav Jha and BJP-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani – are contesting the elections on the two seats.
Voting will take place between 9 am and 4 pm at a polling station set up inside the Jharkhand Assembly headquarters.
“Once the polling is over, the report will be sent to the Election Commission of India. Based on the commission’s permission, the counting of votes will begin, initially around 5 pm,” returning officer Ranjit Kumar told PTI on Wednesday.
Kumar, who is also secretary of the Jharkhand Assembly, said all preparations are in place to conduct polls safely.
The returning officer added that adequate security arrangements had been made at the association’s headquarters in preparation for the elections.
Political temperatures are rising in the state capital amid fears of counter-voting.
A candidate must receive at least 28 first-preference votes to emerge victorious in the June 18 election.
The BJP-led NDA has 24 members in the Jharkhand Assembly, while the India bloc has 56 members.
JMM’s Badyanath Ram is expected to win easily, as the party has adequate numbers in the state assembly.
All eyes are on the second seat, where we are likely to witness a tough battle between Congress Jha and NDA-backed Natwane.
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.
Both the ruling and opposition camps left no stone unturned to keep their multilateral legal agreements intact ahead of the polls.
NDA MLAs were shifted to a hotel in Ranchi on Tuesday, while the ruling Indian bloc is busy holding meetings with MLAs to thwart chances of cross-voting.
India’s ruling bloc, including Congress members, participated in a mock opinion poll during a meeting at Prime Minister Hemant Soren’s residence on Tuesday night to sensitize new lawmakers to the practice.
A meeting of ruling party legislators, including members of the RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation Party, was held at a hotel on Wednesday, and they also participated in a mock poll on the occasion, Congress MLA Suresh Paita said.
“All 56 MLAs of the India Bloc are united and we will win both the Rajya Sabha seats,” he said.
BJP president Naveen Jaiswal also declared his supported candidate the winner of the elections.
One of the Rajya Sabha seats in the state fell vacant after the death of JMM co-founder Shibu Soren. The other vacancy is due to the expiration of BJP member Deepak Prakash’s term on June 21.
