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.