Aizawl/Ranchi: Voting commenced for the election to three Rajya Sabha seats in Mizoram and Jharkhand on Thursday.
In Mizoram, two candidates — K Laltluangkima of the ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) and Mizo National Front (MNF) leader Zothansangi Hmar — are in the fray for the lone Rajya Sabha seat. Polling, which began at 9 a.m, will conclude at 4 p.m., and counting of votes will begin at 5 p.m.
In Jharkhand, elections are being held for two Rajya Sabha seats. The BJP is backing Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani, while the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has fielded Baidyanath Ram. Congress candidate Pranav Jha is also in the fray.
As the JMM has 34 members in the state Assembly, Baidyanath Ram is expected to win comfortably.
The BJP-led NDA has 24 MLAs, four short of the minimum 28 first-preference votes required in the 81-member Assembly to secure a Rajya Sabha seat. The ruling INDIA bloc, comprising the JMM, Congress and its allies, has 56 members in the House.
Among the other INDIA bloc constituents, the Congress has 16 MLAs, the RJD has four legislators, and the CPI(ML) Liberation has two.
All eyes are on the second seat, where a keen contest is expected between Congress candidate Pranav Jha and NDA-backed Independent Parimal Nathwani.
The NDA's 24 MLAs include 21 from the BJP, one each from the LJP (Ram Vilas), the AJSU Party, and the JD(U). The Jharkhand Loktantrik Krantikari Morcha also has one MLA.
Both the ruling and opposition camps left no stone unturned to keep their MLAs together ahead of the polling.
The NDA legislators were shifted to a hotel in Ranchi on Tuesday, while the ruling INDIA bloc held meetings with its MLAs to prevent any possibility of cross-voting.
In the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, the ZPM has 27 legislators, the MNF 10, the BJP two, and the Congress one.
MNF legislator and Leader of the Opposition Lalchhandama Ralte alleged that there was a rift within the ZPM and expressed hope that the MNF candidate might receive support from the ruling party.
Ralte also claimed that ZPM legislators cast their votes from 10.30 a.m. onwards and remained united during the polling. Meanwhile, the Congress and the BJP abstained from voting.
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