New Delhi: The Congress suffered a setback in the Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand after alleged cross-voting by MLAs of parties in the ruling alliance.
Elections were held for two Rajya Sabha seats from the state. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)-led coalition was expected to win both seats, fielding one candidate each from JMM and the Congress. A third contestant, an independent, entered the fray with BJP support.
JMM candidate Baijnath Ram won comfortably with 30 votes. Congress nominee Pranav Jha, however, managed only 19 votes and lost. Three votes were declared invalid.
Reports said the Congress defeat was linked to alliance partners voting differently. While Congress’s 16 MLAs and JMM’s 4 MLAs backed the Congress candidate, MLAs from RJD (4) and CPI(ML) (2) were reported to have cross-voted.
The BJP-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani won with 28 votes.
