Rajya Sabha setback exposes cracks within Jharkhand’s ruling alliance

A day after the Rajya Sabha election delivered an unexpected setback to the Congress in Jharkhand, public disagreements among constituents of the ruling Mahagathbandhan surfaced on Friday, exposing strains within the alliance.

The friction emerged after Congress candidate Pranav Jha lost the election despite the ruling alliance’s numerical advantage in the 81-member Assembly. NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) nominee Baidyanath Ram secured the two available seats.

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Questions over the voting pattern quickly triggered a blame game among alliance partners. Congress leaders indicated that the party had not received the level of support it expected from all constituents, prompting sharp responses from both the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CPI(ML) Liberation.

RJD national general secretary Bhola Yadav rejected suggestions of cross-voting and maintained that all four RJD MLAs had voted for the Congress nominee. He accused Congress leaders of attempting to shift responsibility for the defeat and said the party should introspect before questioning its allies.

The CPI(ML) Liberation also firmly denied allegations against its legislators. In a letter to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said both CPI(ML) MLAs had voted for Jha in line with the alliance decision. He described reports blaming the party as false and cautioned against actions that could weaken trust among INDIA bloc partners.

The Congress, however, defended its Jharkhand in-charge K Raju after criticism from alliance leaders. State Congress media department chairman Rakesh Sinha termed the remarks against Raju “baseless” and urged alliance partners to maintain restraint and coalition discipline.

While leaders across the alliance have sought to downplay the dispute, the public exchange of statements highlighted unease within the coalition at a time when the INDIA bloc is seeking to project unity.

The ruling alliance continues to enjoy a comfortable majority in the Assembly, and there is no indication of any immediate political instability. However, the Rajya Sabha result and the subsequent war of words have raised fresh questions about coordination and trust among Mahagathbandhan partners.

For now, the election’s political impact appears to extend beyond the loss of a single seat, opening a debate over alliance management and internal cohesion within Jharkhand’s ruling coalition.