Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, June 5: The differences within Jharkhand’s ruling alliance have come to the fore over the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress at odds over seat-sharing as two seats are up for grab for the ruling alliance.
Some JMM leaders have staked claims for both the seats while the Congress is insisting on one and has already announced AICC secretary Pranav Jha, a close associate and political adviser to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, as its candidate from Jharkhand.
The abrupt candidate announcement angered Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who promptly convened an emergency meeting of JMM legislators to deliberate the party’s next move. The JMM-led INDIA bloc holds 56 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly (JMM: 34, Congress: 16, RJD: 4, CPI(ML)L: 2), which guarantees them both seats if unity prevails.
The BJP’s move to enter the fray with a third candidate despite having only 24 NDA legislators (BJP: 21, AJSU: 1, JD(U): 1, LJP(RV): 1), has raised the spectre of cross-voting, as the ruling alliance faces internal friction, leaving the Indian National Congress dependent on Hemant Soren to rein in his party and secure support for their nominee.
Hours after the Congress announced Pranav Jha as its candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from the state, the JMM decided that the party would field candidates for both seats. A meeting of JMM legislators and senior leaders was held at the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and the MLAs authorised Soren, who is also JMM’s Executive President, to take a final call on the matter.
After the meeting, party leaders Yogendra Prasad and Hafizul Hasan told the media that there was a unanimous view among MLAs that the JMM should contest both seats. They added that the names of the party’s candidates would be announced before June 8.
JMM leaders said as the largest political party in the state, it has a natural claim over both seats. Following the Congress announcement, it was widely believed that a consensus had been reached within the alliance on seat-sharing. However, the JMM’s decision has upended that assumption and brought to the surface long-simmering differences between the two allies.
Earlier, Congress’s Jharkhand in-charge K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had visited Ranchi recently and urged the Chief Minister to allot one Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress. Mr Kharge had also spoken with Chief Minister Soren two days before the candidate announcement. Despite these efforts, the JMM staking claim to both seats has exposed cracks within the ruling alliance.
While the Congress has shown no signs of backing down after naming its candidate, the JMM too appears unwilling to let go of either seat. The ruling alliance has the numbers in the Jharkhand Assembly to win both seats, but the standoff over candidates has raised questions over its unity. With the nomination process underway, the tussle between the two allies has become the dominant political development in the state. The attention now shifts to the next move of Hemant Soren and the Congress leadership.
Polling for 24 Rajya Sabha seats across multiple states is scheduled to take place on June 18. Political parties have begun finalising their candidates and electoral strategies as the election approaches.
JMM and Congress have been key allies in Jharkhand politics for several years and currently form part of the ruling coalition in the state under the leadership of Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The alliance played a crucial role in retaining power in 2024 and has often projected a united front against the BJP. However, seat-sharing decisions, particularly for Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha elections, have occasionally triggered behind-the-scenes negotiations between the two parties. While both parties remain committed to the broader I.N.D.I.A bloc framework, the latest developments suggest that balancing political aspirations within the alliance may not be straightforward.
The Rajya Sabha elections are not only important for strengthening party representation in Parliament but also serve as a measure of political influence within ruling alliances. Experts believe staking claim to both seats could reinforce JMM’s position as the dominant force in Jharkhand politics. For Congress, securing representation from the state remains equally significant as it seeks to maintain its political relevance and bargaining power within the alliance.
The Congress had on Thursday announced the list of its seven candidates for the Rajya Sabha elections, including Mr Kharge from Karnataka from where it has also fielded two more candidates, Mr Pawan Khera and Mr Mansoor Ali Khan.
According to a communication from AICC general secretary, Organisation, KC Venugopal, the Congress has fielded its leader, Meenakshi Natarajan, as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election in Madhya Pradesh. She was a former MP.
The party also fielded Praveen Chakravarty, its head of the Data Analytics and Professionals Wing, for the Rajya Sabha election in Tamil Nadu, the seat allocated to the Congress by the chief minister Vijay as a gesture towards his ally, besides re-nominating Neeraj Dangi from Rajasthan.
The Election Commission announced polls for 24 Rajya Sabha seats on June 18 following the retirement of incumbents, including former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, Kharge, and Digvijay Singh. The EC said the elections for the Rajya Sabha seats will be held in 10 states where the incumbents are retiring on different dates beginning June 21 to July 19.
The Rajya Sabha elections will be held in four seats each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Karnataka, three seats each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two seats in Jharkhand, and one seat each in Manipur, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. The last date for filing nominations is June 8.
