Defeat could cost BJP all Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand election

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may not have a Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand when the Narendra Modi-led government faces its next Lok Sabha test in 2024, after the state assembly election results on Monday.

However, the calculations suggest that if the Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik), which contested against the BJP in this state election, decides to extend support to the party, it could retain its current tally in the Upper House of Parliament.

Although the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government remains in minority in the Rajya Sabha, it has been able to clear crucial legislations including the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act due to factions within the Opposition ranks.

There are six Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand, and currently the BJP has three seats while the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have one each.

The sixth seat is held by an independent MP, industrialist Parimal Nathwani. Jharkhand will face biennial elections on two seats each in 2020, 2022 and 2024.

As there will be a direct contest between the BJP and the ruling alliance of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Congress and RJD for the six seats of the Upper House, the current arithmetic in the state assembly has made contests interesting.

The Narendra Modi-led NDA government is scheduled to gain majority in the Upper House by the end of 2021, but if the BJP fails to bag a single Rajya Sabha seat from Jharkhand, it may leave the NDA with a reduced majority over the Congress-led Opposition in the House.