Ranchi, June 17: The political landscape in Jharkhand is heating up as the Rajya Sabha elections approach. Scheduled for June 18, the elections have once again brought ‘hotel politics’ to the forefront. The entry of independent candidate Parimal Nathwani, backed by the NDA, has made the contest triangular.
In light of concerns over cross-voting and horse-trading, political parties are resorting to the age-old tactic of hotel politics to keep their legislators united. BJP and its allied party members are currently staying at a hotel in Ranchi. Several legislators, including BJP leader Babulal Marandi, have already arrived there. NDA-supported candidate Parimal Nathwani is also stationed at the same location.
On the other hand, the Congress party has convened a meeting of its legislators and leaders at a hotel in Ranchi. Sources indicate that the party’s legislators will remain together on Wednesday and will head to the assembly collectively for voting on Thursday.
This is not a new development in Jharkhand politics. Since the state’s formation, whenever the balance of power has been delicate or crucial elections and confidence votes have been at stake, hotel and resort politics have emerged as a strategy to keep legislators together.
The first significant discussion around ‘resort politics’ in Jharkhand occurred after the 2005 assembly elections. When a hung assembly situation arose, the BJP and its allies sent their legislators out of the state. During that time, some legislators were accommodated in hotels and resorts in Jaipur and Odisha. In August 2022, during a political crisis for the then Hemant Soren government, legislators from the ruling coalition were sent to Raipur in Chhattisgarh due to fears of opposition attempts to poach them. They remained there for nearly a week before returning to Ranchi.
In February 2024, when Hemant Soren was arrested and a new government was formed under Champai Soren, legislators from the JMM-Congress alliance were sent to Hyderabad. They stayed there until just before the floor test and returned for voting afterward. For the current Rajya Sabha elections, a candidate needs approximately 28 first-preference votes to win. A total of 56 votes are required to secure both seats, and the INDIA bloc reportedly has a similar number of votes.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Parimal Nathwani is appealing for support from all 81 legislators. He claims that he received backing from various parties when he was elected to the Rajya Sabha as an independent candidate in 2008 and 2014. This time, he hopes to garner support based on the voice of conscience.
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