Prateek Tanmay
2 min readNew DelhiJun 18, 2026 06:37 PM IST
First published on: Jun 18, 2026 at 06:37 PM IST
In a major embarrassment for the Congress, the party lost the second Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand on Thursday because of cross-voting by INDIA bloc allies RJD and CPI(M-L) Liberation. Sources said Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) candidate Baidyanath Ram, a former minister, won, with the second seat going to BJP-backed Independent Parimal Nathwani.
In the 81-member Assembly, a candidate required 28 first-preference votes to win. Sources said Ram got 30 votes while Nathwani, a Gujarat-based businessman, secured 28. It is learnt that four MLAs of the RJD and two of the CPI(M-L) Liberation voted for Nathwani. The Congress’s Pranav Jha could manage to get only 20 votes. Nathwani got 30 votes, but two were found to be invalid, sources said, while one vote that went to Jha was declared invalid.
The JMM-led alliance has a total of 56 MLAs and without cross-voting, both its candidates would have sailed through. Nathwani was first elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand in 2014.
A businessman and senior corporate executive, Nathwani represented Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha for two consecutive terms between 2008 and 2020, both times as an Independent. In his previous tenure in the Upper House, he represented the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) as an MP from Andhra Pradesh. Nathwani has highlighted his work in Jharkhand through MPLADS-funded projects, village development initiatives and infrastructure works.
Over the years, Nathwani has built relationships across party lines in Jharkhand, leading to speculation that he could attract support beyond the NDA’s official numbers. Before this election, his meeting with Chief Minister and JMM leader Hemant Soren, before eventually securing the NDA’s backing.
