For the two Rajya Sabha seats of the state, JMM has fielded Baidyanath Ram while Congress has fielded Pranav Jha. The NDA is supporting Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani.
Nathwani is staying in a hotel in Ranchi. On Tuesday afternoon, the NDA began shifting its MLAs to the hotel and sources told ET that rooms have been booked for all the MLAs. Some of the MLAs shifted on Tuesday while the remainder will shift on Wednesday morning.
The NDA has organised a special training session for the MLAs on how to cast votes in the election.
The BJP has 21 MLAs, while allies JDU, AJSU and LJP (RV) have one MLA each, taking the total to 24 MLAs, four short of the required number of 28 for victory in a Rajya Sabha seat.
On the other hand, JMM has 34 MLAs, Congress has 16, RJD has four and CPI (M) has two MLAs, taking the total to 56 MLAs, the exact number required to win two seats.
The BJP is claiming victory for Nathwani.”All the NDA MLAs are intact. As for the additional four votes, some INDIA bloc MLAs are going to support him based on his previous work as a Rajya Sabha MP from the state. We are sure of Nathwani’s victory,” Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pradeep Sinha told ET.
The INDIA alliance MLAs on Tuesday gathered at CM Hemant Soren’s residence for a dinner meeting to discuss the alliance strategy for the election.
Apart from CM Hemant Soren and all the MLAs of the alliance, Rajya Sabha candidates Baidyanath Ram and Pranav Jha were also present during the meeting. On Monday, Jha met RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in Patna, seeking his party’s support for the Rajya Sabha seat.
