From confidence to shock: How Congress lost the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha battle
The Congress, the second-largest ally in the JMM-led Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, has suffered a major setback. Despite the ruling alliance having the numbers
The Congress, the second-largest ally in the JMM-led Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand, has suffered a major setback. Despite the ruling alliance having the numbers on its side, Congress candidate Pranav Jha faced a crushing defeat. On the other hand, NDA-backed Rajya Sabha candidate Parimal Nathwani, despite lacking the required numbers on paper, secured enough cross-votes from INDIA bloc allies to make his way from Ranchi to the Upper House of Parliament. Read Full Story There was intense activity at the Assembly complex from the morning. Discussions and calculations dominated both the ruling and opposition camps, with supporters of the NDA and the INDIA alliance engaged in constant speculation. Around 9 am, Congress MLAs arrived at the Assembly premises in a bus. They all expressed confidence about victory, while leaders and legislators supporting the Hemant Soren government gathered in the ruling camp over tea, coffee, and breakfast. They had planned to vote together to send a message of unity. Meanwhile, Parimal Nathwani also arrived at the Assembly. Dressed in a blue shirt, he appeared confident from the outset.
Perhaps he already knew that after a day of political manoeuvring, Thursday evening would belong to him. NDA legislators remained camped in the Leader of the Opposition’s room throughout the morning. The correspondent observed them constantly talking on the phone, keen to know who had voted and how many votes had been cast. Earlier, all 24 NDA MLAs had exercised their franchise together by around 11:30 am. Voting was scheduled from 9 am to 4 pm. After the NDA legislators, all INDIA alliance MLAs voted together. Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Speaker Rabindra Nath Mahato were the last to cast their votes. RJD’s election observer and polling agent was Bhola Yadav, a close aide of Lalu Prasad Yadav. Congress in-charge K Raju was seen heading towards the polling booth with him, hoping that the RJD’s four MLAs would vote in Congress’s favour. However, by evening, events appeared to be moving against the Congress. Outside the polling centre, Congress supporters formed the largest crowd. Anxiety was also highest regarding the second seat. One seat was always considered a sure victory for the JMM, while the other witnessed a direct contest between the Congress candidate and the NDA-backed candidate.
Voting had concluded by around 2:15 pm. For a few hours thereafter, the fate of the three candidates remained sealed inside the ballot boxes. Counting began at 5 pm. Shortly afterwards, JMM leaders and Congress leader Radha Krishna Kishore emerged from the counting area. A crowd of supporters and journalists followed them for updates. When they announced that three votes had been declared invalid, disappointment spread across the faces of Congress workers. They immediately realised that their worst fears had come true. Three invalid votes meant the victory threshold would fall to around 26 votes. Since the NDA already had 24 votes, it needed only two or three additional votes to secure victory. Soon after, the news that dealt the biggest blow to Congress became official. Parimal Nathwani won with 28 votes, while the JMM-backed candidate secured 30 votes. Congress managed only 20 votes. Congress leaders then openly expressed anger towards their alliance partners. Meanwhile, BJP workers at the Assembly premises began raising slogans of "Jai Shri Ram." The Assembly complex also echoed with chants of "PM Modi Zindabad" and "Amit Shah Zindabad." Both victorious candidates accepted their certificates with smiles and outlined their priorities for Jharkhand.
The BriefWire