Jharkhand Rajya Sabha polls: NDA holds mock vote, backs Nathwani with '100% certainty'
Synopsis
With NDA holding only 25 of the 81 Jharkhand Assembly seats, Parimal Nathwani needs at least 3 cross-votes to win Thursday's Rajya Sabha seat — yet BJP's state president is calling his victory '100% certain'. The mock poll and hotel stay reveal how high the stakes are in a contest that will test the INDIA bloc's discipline as much as the NDA's arithmetic.
Key Takeaways
NDA conducted a mock poll on 17 June at a Ranchi hotel to train MLAs ahead of the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election on Thursday .
BJP state president Aditya Sahu declared Parimal Nathwani's victory '100 per cent certain' and said all NDA MLAs are united.
Three candidates are contesting two seats : JMM's Baijnath Ram , Congress's Pranav Jha , and NDA-backed independent Parimal Nathwani .
A candidate needs approximately 28 first-preference votes to win; NDA has only 25 MLAs , leaving Nathwani 3 votes short .
Sahu questioned Congress's appointment of national in-charges — not local leaders — as polling agents, calling it a sign of distrust in state leadership.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Jharkhand conducted a mock poll on Wednesday, 17 June to prepare its legislators for the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for Thursday, with BJP state president Aditya Sahu declaring that NDA-backed independent candidate Parimal Nathwani's victory is '100 per cent certain'. The exercise, held at a hotel in Ranchi where NDA MLAs have been staying, was aimed at minimising technical errors and ensuring bloc unity ahead of a politically significant three-way contest for two seats.
Mock Poll and MLA Training
BJP state president Aditya Sahu, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi, and industrialist and independent candidate Parimal Nathwani were among those present at Wednesday's session. According to sources, several NDA legislators are participating in a Rajya Sabha election for the first time and were given detailed briefings on the voting procedure to reduce the risk of ballot errors. The mock poll served as a dry run ahead of the high-stakes Thursday vote.
NDA's Confidence and Political Barbs
Sahu asserted that all NDA MLAs are united behind Nathwani and will deliver full support. He also remarked that some legislators would vote 'according to their conscience' — a phrase widely read as an appeal to cross-voting from the opposition benches. Turning his fire on the Indian National Congress (INC), Sahu questioned the party's criticism of 'hotel politics', pointing out that Congress MLAs, who had earlier claimed they would go directly from their homes to vote, are themselves now lodged at a Ranchi hotel.
Sahu also raised doubts over Congress's choice of polling agents, noting that the party has named its Jharkhand in-charge K. Raju and co-in-charge Siri Bela Prasad for the role — a move he argued signals a lack of confidence in the party's local leadership in the state.
The Numbers Game
Three candidates are contesting two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand. The INDIA bloc has fielded Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) nominee Baijnath Ram and Congress's Pranav Jha, while the NDA has backed independent Parimal Nathwani. Based on the current 81-seat Jharkhand Assembly strength, a candidate requires approximately 28 first-preference votes to win a seat — meaning 56 votes are needed to secure both. The NDA holds 25 MLAs, including 21 from the BJP, leaving Nathwani at least 3 votes short of the threshold. His path to victory depends on cross-voting from outside the alliance.
What Happens Next
With the vote set for Thursday, all eyes are on whether Nathwani can secure the additional votes needed to pull off what would amount to an upset. The outcome will be a key indicator of the INDIA bloc's internal cohesion in Jharkhand and the NDA's ability to engineer cross-party support in a state where it is not in government.
Point of View
Not a mandate. The mock poll and hotel herding are standard pre-election discipline tools, but they also signal anxiety. The more revealing detail is Sahu's remark that some legislators will vote 'according to their conscience' — a coded invitation for cross-voting that acknowledges the numbers don't add up on their own. If Nathwani falls short, it will expose the limits of NDA's reach in a state where the INDIA bloc controls the government. If he wins, it raises sharper questions about how those three extra votes were secured.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Parimal Nathwani and why is he contesting the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election?
Parimal Nathwani is an industrialist contesting as an NDA-backed independent candidate in the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election scheduled for Thursday, 18 June. The NDA has fielded him as its nominee for one of the two seats up for election, despite him not being a party member.
How many votes does the NDA need to win the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha seat?
A candidate needs approximately 28 first-preference votes to secure a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand, based on the current 81-seat Assembly strength. The NDA holds 25 MLAs, meaning Nathwani needs at least 3 additional votes from outside the alliance to win.
Who are the other candidates in the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election?
Two INDIA bloc candidates are in the race: JMM's Baijnath Ram and Congress's Pranav Jha. They are contesting against NDA-backed independent Parimal Nathwani for two available Rajya Sabha seats.
Why did the NDA conduct a mock poll ahead of the Rajya Sabha election?
The NDA held the mock poll on 17 June to familiarise its MLAs with the voting procedure and minimise technical errors. Several NDA legislators are reportedly voting in a Rajya Sabha election for the first time and required detailed training on the process.
What has the BJP said about Congress's conduct ahead of the vote?
BJP state president Aditya Sahu questioned Congress's criticism of 'hotel politics', noting that Congress MLAs who had said they would go directly from home to vote are themselves now staying at a Ranchi hotel. He also flagged that Congress has appointed its national in-charges — not local Jharkhand leaders — as polling agents, which he argued reflects a lack of confidence in the party's state leadership.
