Cross-Voting In Jharkhand Powers BJP-Backed Candidate To Rajya Sabha

A BJP-backed candidate won a seat in Jharkhand’s Rajya Sabha election today, after cross-voting by MLAs of the CPI(ML) and Lalu Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal,

One seat was won by Baijnath Ram of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. The other went to BJP-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani.
Baijnath Ram polled 30 votes and Nathwani 28 votes. The Congress candidate, Pranav Jha, got 19 votes and three votes were declared invalid.

Sources said MLAs from RJD and CPI(ML) had voted for Nathwani. RJD has four MLAs and CPI(ML) two.

The Congress received votes from its 16 MLAs and four MLAs of ally JMM. The JMM used two additional votes to ensure the victory of its own candidate. The remaining four went to Congress.

In Jharkhand, the JMM has 34 MLAs, Congress 16, RJD 4, and CPI(ML) 2 MLAs.

The victory of the BJP-backed candidate comes amid a political turmoil in Bengal and Maharashtra that is expected to boost the numbers of the NDA in both houses of parliament. (UPDATED ON 18TH JUNE 2026)