3 min readRanchiMay 26, 2026 12:13 PM IST
First published on: May 26, 2026 at 12:11 PM IST
Political activity over the upcoming Rajya Sabha election in Jharkhand intensified after the BJP announced that it would field a candidate and expressed confidence of winning. The state’s ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has now written to the Election Commission, alleging the possibility of horse-trading and attempts to influence legislators through external pressure.
Elections will be held on June 18 for two Rajya Sabha seats. The BJP took the decision to field a candidate for one of the seats in a meeting of its state election committee held on Monday under the chairmanship of state president Aditya Sahu. Addressing the media after the meeting, BJP state general secretary Amar Kumar Bauri said the party would not only field a candidate, but was confident of securing victory.
Bauri told The Indian Express that the BJP candidate would definitely win the election. “This is a democracy, and we have the right to fight the election. JMM should look after its own equations. It is a well-known fact what is happening between JMM and Congress. They claim they have 56 seats, but they themselves know how weak that number is. Horse-trading was started by them,” he said.
Among those present at the meeting were Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, former chief minister Arjun Munda, and other senior leaders.
Meanwhile, JMM central general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya wrote to the Election Commission seeking “free and fear-free” elections and demanding strict vigilance over central and state investigating agencies during the poll process.
In the letter, Bhattacharya wrote that the ruling alliance, comprising JMM, Congress, RJD and CPI(ML), has 56 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly. He pointed out that a Rajya Sabha candidate requires 28 first-preference votes to win, and therefore, the alliance was in a position to secure both seats going to the polls.
The JMM alleged that despite the BJP having only 21 MLAs in the Assembly, senior BJP leaders, including Marandi and Sahu, had publicly announced that the party would contest the election. It alleged that this raised apprehensions of an attempt at horse-trading, or influencing MLAs with financial inducements, unethical external pressure and intimidation.
The JMM further urged the Election Commission to ensure strict monitoring to prevent “corruption and fear” during voting and requested vigilance over agencies, including the CBI, ED, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), and the state Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
