RANCHI: The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its alliance partner Congress want to approach the Rajya Sabha election for the two seats from Jharkhand that will fall vacant in the next few months differently. The Congress has demanded at least one seat for itself, while its INDIA bloc partner JMM wants to field nominees on both the seats.
According to Congress state-in-charge K Raju, the party will press its claim ahead of the June election. Unlike previous elections, when the alliance could manage to win just one seat, the Congress and its allies are now in a stronger position, he said.
“After the Assembly polls in five states are completed, a meeting will be held with the Jharkhand allies of the INDIA bloc. Congress leaders will discuss the issue with Chief Minister Hemant Soren,” he said.
Raju said that in the last three Rajya Sabha elections, the state’s ruling alliance possessed the numerical strength to win only a single seat and, consequently, on all three occasions, that seat went to the JMM. However, he emphasized, this time around, the alliance was in a position to win both.
Notably, one of two seats that will go to the polls in June has remained vacant since the demise of Dishom Guru Shibu Soren last year, while the other seat will fall vacant when the tenure of BJP leader Deepak Prakash comes to an end.
The ruling alliance holds 56 seats in the 81-member Assembly. With 34 MLAs, the JMM is the largest constituent of the alliance, while the Congress, with 16 MLAs, stands as the second-largest partner. The Rashtriya Janata Dal stands at the third position with four seats, while the CPI(ML) has two MLAs.
The JMM has two members—Sarfraz Ahmad and Mahua Maji—in the Rajya Sabha currently. The BJP has three members, including Prakash.
Ruling alliance numbers
The ruling alliance holds 56 seats in the 81-member Assembly. With 34 MLAs, the JMM is the largest constituent of the alliance, while the Congress, with 16 MLAs, stands as the second-largest partner. The RJD stands at the third position with four seats.