An early tussle has surfaced within Jharkhand’s ruling alliance over the two Rajya Sabha seats scheduled to go to polls later this year, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) staking claim to both positions and the Congress asserting its right to at least one.
The contest has arisen after one seat fell vacant following the death of veteran JMM leader Shibu Soren.
The second seat will fall vacant in June with the completion of the term of BJP MP Deepak Prakash. Elections to both seats are expected around May or June.
JMM leaders have publicly indicated that the party would like to contest both seats.
Party central spokesperson Manoj Pandey said JMM hopes to secure both positions and expressed confidence that Chief Minister Hemant Soren would be able to convince the Congress leadership on the matter.
“Our wish is that both Rajya Sabha seats go to JMM. If our candidates are elected, they will raise Jharkhand’s voice strongly in the Upper House,” Pandey said.
The statement has drawn a response from the Congress, the second largest partner in the ruling alliance.
Congress spokesperson Sonal Shanti said the party has repeatedly stepped aside in earlier Rajya Sabha elections in the interest of alliance unity and now expects its share.
He said the Congress had shown a large hearted approach in the past and it would be natural for the party to stake claim to at least one of the two seats in the upcoming election.
Despite the emerging disagreement, the ruling INDIA bloc remains in a strong numerical position to secure both seats if its legislators vote together.
In the 81 member Jharkhand Assembly, the alliance commands 56 MLAs, including 34 from JMM, 16 from Congress, four from the Rashtriya Janata Dal and two from the CPI (ML).
In a Rajya Sabha election, a candidate requires 28 votes to win.
The arithmetic means that the ruling bloc can theoretically win both seats if it maintains unity.
The opposition NDA, however, is watching the developments closely. The BJP has 21 MLAs in the Assembly, while its allies AJSU, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) have one legislator each, taking the NDA tally to 24.
One MLA belongs to the Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha. BJP leaders said the party will finalise its strategy once the election schedule is announced.
Party spokesperson Avinesh Kumar said the BJP remains hopeful of attracting support from legislators dissatisfied with the present government.
Political observers said that while one seat is widely expected to remain with JMM, the second could become the focus of negotiations within the ruling alliance.
If the alliance remains united, both seats are likely to go to the INDIA bloc. However, any disagreement or cross voting could make the contest more competitive than the numbers currently suggest.