Ranchi: Allegations of cross voting in Jharkhand Rajya Sabha elections have sparked a new political debate within the India Alliance. After the election results, Congress has raised questions on its allies, while other constituent parties of the alliance are rejecting these allegations outright. This controversy has intensified the discussion on Jharkhand politics as well as opposition unity.
Bhupesh Baghel’s claim
Congress-appointed observer for Rajya Sabha elections and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel claimed that Congress MLAs supported the party candidate with full unity, but some votes of allies did not fall as expected. He said that Congress has got the votes of all its MLAs and cross voting has taken place from the allies. Baghel also made serious allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that it tried to influence the electoral equation through money power.
While talking to journalists in Bhilai, Baghel said that despite BJP having enough MLAs, it did not field its candidate and supported an independent candidate. He alleged that pressure and allurement were used on the MLAs to influence the democratic process. According to him, promoting money power instead of ideology in politics is a matter of concern for democracy.
Irfan Ansari targets alliance partners
Meanwhile, Jharkhand government minister and Congress leader Irfan Ansari also targeted some of the alliance partners. He alleged that Congress supported its allies in difficult times, but the party did not get the expected support during the Rajya Sabha elections. Ansari said that such steps weaken opposition unity and may give political benefits to BJP.
However, Congress’s allegations have been rejected by other parties of the alliance. CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya clearly said that both the MLAs of his party voted for the Congress supported candidate. He said that party discipline was completely followed and there was no truth in the allegations of cross voting.
At the same time, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) also termed Congress’s claims wrong. Party’s national general secretary Bhola Yadav said that all four of its MLAs voted in favor of the India Alliance candidate. He claimed that he himself was present during the elections as an observer and had a direct eye on the voting process.
Meeting of JMM and Congress leaders
Amidst this entire controversy, a meeting of JMM and Congress leaders was also held at the residence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The election results and the status of the alliance were discussed in the meeting. Political analysts believe that after this development, the possibility of introspection and review of voting patterns within the alliance has increased. Now everyone’s eyes are on what conclusion Congress reaches in its investigation and how the alliance partners resolve this dispute.
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