Congress holds talks with Hemant Soren on fielding party nominee from one of 2 Rajya Sabha seats going to polls in Jharkhand

Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday to discuss fielding a Congress candidate from one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand, which goes to polls on June 18.

A seat fell vacant following the death of former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president and former CM Shibu Soren last year. The second one will remain vacant after the term of BJP leader Deepak Prakash ends on June 21.

Earlier, interacting with media persons after reaching Ranchi airport, Mr. Raju said, “We will sit down with the CM to discuss the election strategy and our candidate.”

Mr. Raju said that only a local candidate will be considered when deciding whether the party will field a local candidate or an outside candidate. “The party is concentrating on a local candidate. We have already informed the party high command about this. Earlier, we have seen non-local candidates being elected to the Rajya Sabha in other states, but we told the high command that public sentiment is very strong in Jharkhand, so it would be wise to field a local candidate,” he said.

According to party sources, former State Congress chief Rajesh Thakur and former Union Minister Subodh Kant Sahay are the frontrunners for the seat.

“Who will go to the Upper House and who will be a candidate will be decided by the high command based on the reports of those in charge of the state and other leaders,” state Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said.

Of the 81 seats in the assembly, the JMM-led ruling alliance has 56 MLAs; these include 34 JMM, 16 Congress, four Rashtriya Janata Dal and two Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. The opposition alliance has 24 MLAs: 21 from the BJP and one each from the All Jharkhand Students’ Union, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The parliament also has an independent legislator.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the notification for the Rajya Sabha election will be published on June 1. Candidates can submit their candidacy documents until June 8. The review of nomination papers will be held on June 9. The deadline for withdrawal of nominations is June 11. Voting will take place on June 18 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Voting will start at 17.00 on the same day.