Congress has intensified its efforts to secure one of Jharkhand's two upcoming Rajya Sabha seats, with senior party leaders meeting Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday to press their case. Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka held detailed discussions with the Chief Minister and also conveyed the views of the party's central leadership.
The meeting, which lasted nearly two hours, focused on the ruling alliance's strategy for the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled on June 18. Congress leaders described the discussions as constructive and expressed confidence that a final decision on seat-sharing would be taken within the next few days.
Speaking after the meeting, K. Raju said Chief Minister Hemant Soren had assured them that he would consider the proposal and hold consultations with the alliance leadership before arriving at a decision.
According to Raju, the primary objective of the Congress leadership is to ensure that both Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand remain with the ruling INDIA bloc partners and do not go to the BJP. He emphasized that the alliance's focus is on securing victory in both seats.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka also termed the meeting productive and said the Chief Minister would soon come back with an appropriate course of action.
Congress MLA Pradeep Yadav, who was also present during the discussions, said there was complete agreement between the Congress and the Chief Minister on the broader political strategy. He stated that while the alliance is confident about winning the first seat, deliberations were held on how to ensure success on the second seat as well.
Yadav said a plan has been worked out to keep all 28 legislators of the alliance united during the election process and that the responsibility for executing the strategy has been entrusted to the Chief Minister.
Despite Congress's claim, leaders of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have continued to assert that the party intends to field candidates for both Rajya Sabha seats.
Jharkhand will elect two Rajya Sabha members this year. One seat became vacant following the demise of veteran JMM leader and former Rajya Sabha MP Shibu Soren, while the second seat will fall vacant after the completion of BJP leader Deepak Prakash's term.
In the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, the ruling alliance currently enjoys a comfortable majority with 56 MLAs. The JMM is the largest constituent with 34 legislators, followed by Congress with 16. The Rashtriya Janata Dal has four MLAs, while CPI (ML) has two members in the House.
The NDA's strength stands at 24 members, including 21 BJP legislators, along with one MLA each from AJSU, JD(U), and LJP.
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