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Express News Service
RANCHI: Merely two days after reaching to a consensus by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and CM Hemant Soren at New Delhi on fielding a candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in Jharkhand from Congress Party, JMM announced Mahua Maji as its candidate at Ranchi on Monday. CM Hemant Soren left his alliance partner, the Congress, surprised and annoyed as well, when he announced the name of Mahua Maji.
Peeved with the decision taken by JMM, Jharkhand Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey met Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday evening to discuss the future course of action. Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur also asserted that he has informed the central leadership about the development and will discuss what to do next in the election.
Earlier in the afternoon, in a hurriedly called chaotic press conference at his official residence, CM Hemant Soren said that he had a discussion over the matter with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, which, he briefed his father and JMM President Shibu Soren after reaching here.
“After taking consent from party patriarch Shibu Soren, we have reached to a conclusion that Mahua Maji as JMM’s candidate for Rajya Sabha Polls in Jharkhand. Now, we will take further action in this regard,” said CM Hemant Soren.
Jharkhand Congress was confident till Monday morning that CM Hemant Soren will oblige the Congress party by leaving the seat for it. Congress leaders were under impression that Soren, amid the trouble mounting on him over mining lease allegations, will fall in the line to keep the Congress happy in order to get its support to save his membership in the Assembly and a possible money launderingprobe.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on Jharkhand Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey, who will be arriving Ranchi on Tuesday after meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
“Avinash Pande ji is coming to Ranchi tomorrow. We will then discuss what to do next in the election,” said Jharkhand Congress Chief. They believed that CM Hemant Soren would honour the words of Sonia ji who urged him to support the Congress this time, which did not happen, he added.
“According to media reports, we were under impression that JMM would leave the RS seat this time for Congress party, which did not happen. It appears that there is some contradiction in the decision taken by JMM,” said Thakur. What he spoke to Sonia Ji in Delhi and what he announced is in complete contrast, he added.
Thakur further added that JMM has sufficient numbers in the Assembly to win the seat and the JMM may not require the support of the Congress. The JMM might have taken the decision while considering several aspects. This is the decision of the JMM so we can’t comment much.
Notably, two seats of Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand will go to the polls as the tenures of Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and BJP MP Mahesh Poddar are expiring on July 7. The last date for filing nominations is May 31, while the voting will be held on June 10.
In 81-member Jharkhand Assembly, JMM has 30 MLAs and a candidate needs only 27 votes to win. Congress on the other hand has 17 MLAs while BJP has 26 MLAs along with 2 MLAs of AJSU. Besides RJD, CPI (ML) and NCP each having 1 MLA, Jharkhand Assembly also has 2 independent MLAs.
In the present scenario, grand alliance will get one of the two seats and BJP is also likely to get one seat in Rajya Sabha, if it succeeds in bringing the two independent MLAs and to its side.
JMM Chief Shibu Soren and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Deepak Prakash had won the two seats in 2020. The Congress had fielded Shahzada Anwar as its candidate who lost it for not having adequate numbers.
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