Did the RJD take revenge on Congress in the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election for what happened during the Upper House polls in Bihar earlier this year? The question is being raised after Congress’s Pranav Jha lost the Rajya Sabha election in Jharkhand despite the INDIA bloc having enough numbers in the 81-member Assembly to ensure the victories of both its candidates.
While JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram won a seat, the other went to BJP-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani, implying that cross-voting was at play. Nathwani secured 28 votes while Jha got only 20 votes.
WHAT HAPPENED IN JHARKHAND RS POLLS?
The result surprised many because the INDIA bloc had a combined strength of 56 MLAs in the Assembly (JMM – 34, Congress – 16, RJD – 4 and the CPI (ML) – 2). The BJP and its allies have 24 MLAs, while Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha (JLKM) has 1 MLA.
Now, as per the Rajya Sabha electoral college math, each winning candidate needed 28 votes. If all INDIA bloc legislators voted together, both candidates were expected to win comfortably.
Congress sources suspect cross-voting by the four RJD MLAs and two CPI(ML) MLAs in favour of Nathwani.
Soon after the result was announced, leaders from Congress and RJD in Jharkhand blamed each other for the defeat. Allegations of cross-voting and lack of coordination within the alliance quickly surfaced.
The development revived memories of the Bihar Rajya Sabha election held earlier this year.
HOW BIHAR RAJYA SABHA POLLS PANNED OUT?
In Bihar, the INDIA alliance had fielded RJD candidate AD Singh, claiming it had the support of 41 MLAs required for victory. However, four opposition legislators did not vote. Three of them were from Congress, and one was from RJD. As a result, the NDA-backed candidate won, and AD Singh lost.
At that time, opposition parties avoided a direct public confrontation. However, after the Jharkhand result, questions are now being asked whether resentment over AD Singh’s defeat has resurfaced within the alliance.
The controversy intensified when the Bihar RJD issued a strongly worded social media statement targeting Congress.
RJD accused the Congress of hypocrisy on the issue of cross-voting and absenteeism. The party said Congress should first examine its own record before blaming alliance partners.
In its post, RJD claimed that Congress legislators in Haryana, Odisha and Bihar had either cross-voted or remained absent during the recent Rajya Sabha elections, helping BJP-backed candidates.
The party specifically named three Congress MLAs from Bihar – Surendra Prasad Kushwaha of Valmikinagar, Manoj Biswas of Forbesganj and Manohar Prasad Singh of Manihari – who were absent during the Bihar Rajya Sabha election. The RJD questioned whether Congress had taken any action against them.
The RJD also referred to its own MLA, Faisal Rahman, from Dhaka (yes, Bihar has one too) and said controversies had emerged across parties during the Bihar election. It pointed out that then the opposition leaders had refrained from publicly attacking Congress.
The party accused some Congress leaders in Jharkhand of trying to shift responsibility onto allies such as RJD and CPI(ML) instead of accepting responsibility for their own shortcomings.
Whether the Jharkhand result was a case of cross-voting, poor alliance management, or a fallout of old grievances remains unclear. However, the public exchange between Congress and the RJD has exposed fresh tensions within the INDIA bloc.
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