Ranchi

Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand began on Thursday morning under tight security arrangements at the state Assembly complex, with three candidates contesting for the two vacancies.

The election has drawn considerable attention due to the closely watched contest for the second seat. The candidates in the fray are BJP-backed Independent nominee Parimal Nathwani, JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram, and Congress nominee Pranav Jha.

Voting commenced at 9 am and will continue until 4 pm, while counting is expected to begin around 5 pm.

Members of both the ruling INDIA bloc and the opposition NDA reached the Assembly premises in groups after keeping their legislators together ahead of polling amid concerns over possible cross-voting.

Chief Minister Hemant Soren also arrived at the Assembly to cast his vote.

BJP chief whip Naveen Jaiswal, who was among the first legislators to vote, claimed that all NDA votes had gone in favour of Nathwani.

"Twenty-one BJP legislators along with members from AJSU, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas) have voted, and all votes have been cast in support of NDA-backed candidate Parimal Nathwani," he said.

Expressing confidence, Nathwani said he enjoyed support across political lines and remained optimistic about the outcome.

"I have received support from various quarters and am confident of my victory. The results will become clear by the evening," he remarked.

JD(U) legislator Saryu Rai also confirmed that his vote had gone to the NDA-supported candidate.

On the other hand, leaders from the ruling alliance projected confidence about securing both seats.

RJD MLA Suresh Paswan asserted that the INDIA bloc candidates were well-positioned to emerge victorious, while Congress minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey said the alliance had adequate numbers to win both Rajya Sabha berths.

The political arithmetic makes JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram the clear favourite. The JMM has 34 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly, comfortably exceeding the requirement for one seat.

The ruling INDIA bloc collectively commands 56 legislators, including 34 from JMM, 16 from Congress, four from RJD and two from CPI(ML) Liberation.

The real battle is for the second seat, where Congress candidate Pranav Jha and NDA-backed Nathwani are locked in a keen contest.

The NDA's strength stands at 24 MLAs, comprising 21 BJP legislators and one member each from AJSU Party, JD(U) and LJP (Ram Vilas). The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha also has one legislator in the Assembly.

Since a candidate requires 28 first-preference votes to secure election, Nathwani's prospects hinge on attracting support beyond the NDA's numerical strength.

In anticipation of the vote, both camps took steps to prevent defections and cross-voting. NDA legislators were accommodated at a Ranchi hotel from Tuesday, while the ruling alliance conducted a series of meetings to maintain unity.

The INDIA bloc even organised a mock voting exercise at Chief Minister Soren's residence earlier this week to familiarise newly elected legislators with the voting procedure and ensure a smooth polling process.

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Assembly officials said adequate security measures had been deployed to ensure free and peaceful voting throughout the day.