The Congress has given up its claim on the Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand that has fallen vacant due to the end of tenure of the party’s Dheeraj Sahu. The JMM boss and former chief minister, Hemant Soren, who is in jail on corruption charges, forced the Congress to leave the seat for his party’s Sarfaraz Ahmad. Soren had recently got Sarfaraz to resign as an MLA from Gandey assembly constituency from where he plans to field his wife Kalpana Soren.
In return, Sarfaraz was promised a Rajya Sabha nomination. When the vacancy arose, the Congress demanded the seat as it belongs to the party’s quota. Soren told the Congress leadership that he has already promised the seat to Sarfaraz as part of a plan to save the coalition government in the state after his resignation. Sources said that the Congress leadership decided not to press the matter after it received reports that a large number of its MLAs in Jharkhand are not happy and some are even in touch with the BJP.
The party did not want a repeat of the Himachal Pradesh episode in Jharkhand. This is not the first time that the two Jharkhand allies have clashed over a Rajya Sabha seat. The fight when a vacancy arose last time was so fierce that the then AICC general secretary in charge of Jharkhand, Avinash Pande, directed the party’s MLAs to boycott the chief minister for two months to build pressure on him to leave the seat for the party. Soren, however, stood his ground and took the seat. With the desertion of the party’s MLAs threatening the survival of its government in Himachal, the Congress leadership has decided to yield ground to the JMM and not rock the boat in another state.
Coalition Tales
Nitish to expand ministry on return from UK
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will expand his ministry after his return from the United Kingdom on March 13. The ministry expansion was delayed by the chief minister for over a month to build pressure on his coalition partner, BJP, over his demand for holding the state assembly elections along with the Lok Sabha polls.
The BJP does not want simultaneous polls as the party leadership feels it will distract its workers from the Lok Sabha elections which is its primary focus. Sources said that the chief minister has agreed to go along with his coalition partner on the issue. Nitish had taken oath on January 28 this year for the record ninth time.
Along with him eight ministers — three each from the JD(U) and the BJP, one from Jitan Ram Manjhi’s Hindustan Awam Morch and one independent — also took oath. The BJP and JD(U) have divided the main departments between them. But the full ministry is yet to be formed. According to sources, the chief minister has decided to give in to the BJP’s desire not to hold the state and parliament election together.
Shahid Faridi
The writer is Resident Editor, TNIE, New Delhi.
Follow him on X @Shahid_Faridi_