BJP, NDA MLAs in Jharkhand leave for Assembly as Rajya Sabha voting begins
Ranchi, June 18
BJP and NDA MLAs departed from a hotel in Ranchi for the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly to cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Voting for two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand started, with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)'s Baidyanath Ram, Congress candidate Pranav Jha, and Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani in the fray.
The BJP is supporting Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani in the election.
Polling in the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly began at 9 am and will continue till 4 pm, while the counting of votes will commence at 5 pm. The results will be declared thereafter.
BJP State General Secretary Amar Kumar Bauri said Nathwani had approached the BJP state leadership seeking support, following which the NDA extended its backing to his candidature.
"Parimal Nathwani had come to our state president seeking support. NDA has supported him. His tenure has been widely appreciated. He is on good terms with the MLAs and party in Jharkhand. For the progress of Jharkhand and strengthening NDA, Parimal Nathwani will win," Bauri said.
On voting for Rajya Sabha election today in the state, LJP(RV) MLA Janardan Paswan says, "We are confident of our victory. We will win with a good margin. There is no confusion, NDA is united. There are no ifs and buts. Conscience of several MLAs will awaken today, you will see it at 5 pm today. We are winning."
BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo said, " We are confident that our NDA-supported independent candidate, Parimal Nathwani, will win with a large majority... People will vote for him based on his work and the Prime Minister's policies for public welfare... Secondly, the Congress is calling him all sorts of things and using offensive language. This is extremely regrettable.... Those who are objecting to us today sent Vijay Mallya with the support of the JDS... All sections of society should be represented...."
— ANI
Reader Comments
The Congress calling Nathwani names is rich coming from them - they happily supported Vijay Mallya once. At least Nathwani seems to have a clean record. But the whole 'conscience awakening' comment from LJP's MLA is pure drama. We need more transparency in how these cross-voting decisions happen. Just my two paise.
ये राजनीति का खेल है भाई! (This is the game of politics, brother!) Everyone talks about democracy but at the end of the day, it's about who has the numbers. JMM and Congress have their candidates, BJP has their independent. The real question is whether these MLAs are voting for the people or for their party bosses. Time for some serious electoral reform. 😤
Honestly, I've been following Jharkhand politics for years. Parimal Nathwani has indeed done some good work in his previous tenure - industrial development and all. But the way parties are horse-trading for votes is just sad. At least the results will be out by 5 pm today. Koi suspense nahi hai (No suspense), NDA will win this one for sure.
I'm just tired of all this political drama. Every Rajya Sabha election turns into a circus - MLAs being locked in hotels, cross-voting allegations, and leaders making grand statements. What about the actual issues facing Jharkhand? Unemployment, mining corruption, tribal rights? Bas vote karo aur kaam karo (Just vote and work). 😒
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