NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani secured a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand with 28 votes, defeating Congress candidate Pranav Jha who received 20 votes, while the second seat went to JMM's Baidyanath Ram with 30 votes; this outcome has raised questions of cross-voting within the INDIA bloc as the BJP-led alliance lacked sufficient numbers to win the seat independently, although the Congress denied internal cross-voting, instead blaming allies RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation for the defeat and alleging the BJP used "money power," while the BJP attributed Nathwani's victory to confidence in his work and the NDA's governance, and Nathwani celebrated his fourth term in the Rajya Sabha, his third from Jharkhand, despite both alliances implementing measures to prevent cross-voting.

NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani secured a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand with 28 votes, defeating Congress candidate Pranav Jha who received 20 votes, while the second seat went to JMM's Baidyanath Ram with 30 votes; this outcome has raised questions of cross-voting within the INDIA bloc as the BJP-led alliance lacked sufficient numbers to win the seat independently, although the Congress denied internal cross-voting, instead blaming allies RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation for the defeat and alleging the BJP used "money power," while the BJP attributed Nathwani's victory to confidence in his work and the NDA's governance, and Nathwani celebrated his fourth term in the Rajya Sabha, his third from Jharkhand, despite both alliances implementing measures to prevent cross-voting.

NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani secured a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand with 28 votes, defeating Congress candidate Pranav Jha who received 20 votes, while the second seat went to JMM's Baidyanath Ram with 30 votes; this outcome has raised questions of cross-voting within the INDIA bloc as the BJP-led alliance lacked sufficient numbers to win the seat independently, although the Congress denied internal cross-voting, instead blaming allies RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation for the defeat and alleging the BJP used "money power," while the BJP attributed Nathwani's victory to confidence in his work and the NDA's governance, and Nathwani celebrated his fourth term in the Rajya Sabha, his third from Jharkhand, despite both alliances implementing measures to prevent cross-voting.

The victory of NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani in the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha election has put the spotlight on possible cross-voting by parties of the ruling INDIA bloc in the state, as the BJP-led alliance lacked the numbers required to secure the seat on its own.

Nathwani won one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from the state after polling 28 votes, defeating Congress candidate Pranav Jha, who secured 20 votes. The second seat went to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's (JMM) Baidyanath Ram, who received 30 votes.

The outcome has triggered questions about support from outside the NDA ranks. The BJP-led alliance has 24 MLAs in the 81-member Assembly, four short of the 28 first-preference votes needed to win a Rajya Sabha seat. In contrast, the ruling INDIA bloc, comprising the JMM, Congress and its allies, has 56 legislators.

Meanwhile, three votes were declared invalid, including one from a Congress MLA and two from BJP legislators, according to news agency PTI.

The Congress denied any cross-voting by its legislators and instead blamed alliance partners for the defeat.

Congress minister Dipika Pandey Singh alleged that the BJP had relied on money power to secure Nathwani's victory.

"The BJP fielded a corporate member as an Independent candidate and won the election by using money power. The BJP is promoting horse trading. However, we are happy that all Congress MLAs remained united and polled in favour of the Congress candidate," PTI quoted her as saying.

Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju also rejected suggestions that Congress MLAs had voted against the party nominee. He instead accused the RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation of failing to support the Congress candidate.

"RJD and CPI(ML) Liberation betrayed us. They didn't vote for us, and that's why we lost. We received JMM's four votes, and all Congress legislators exercised their franchise in favour of our candidate," Raju said.

The BJP, however, argued that Nathwani's victory reflected confidence in his work and the NDA's governance.

Jharkhand BJP president Aditya Sahu pointed out that Nathwani secured 28 votes despite two NDA votes being declared invalid.

"Despite our two votes being invalid, Nathwani managed 28 votes. It is a big win. Even members in the INDIA bloc have shown faith in development works being carried out under the leadership of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he said.

Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi said Nathwani's previous tenure as a Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand had earned him support across political lines.

With the victory, Nathwani secured a historic fourth term in the Rajya Sabha. In a social media post, he said the occasion was particularly significant as it marked his third term from Jharkhand, the state from where his parliamentary journey began in 2008.

The result came despite both camps taking extensive measures to prevent cross-voting. The NDA housed its MLAs in a Ranchi hotel ahead of polling, while the INDIA bloc held meetings with its legislators to maintain unity.

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