Ranchi, June 19 (IANS) Allegations and counter-allegations have started flying in the INDIA bloc in Jharkhand as the defeat of Congress candidate Pranav Jha in the Rajya Sabha elections triggered a sharp exchange of words between the alliance partners.

Within hours of the results, the Congress accused its allies — the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) — of cross-voting. Both parties, however, rejected the charge and hit back, questioning the Congress’s organisational control and its hold over its own MLAs.

Elections to two Rajya Sabha seats saw JMM’s Baijnath Ram and NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani emerge victorious on Thursday, while Congress nominee Jha lost despite the INDIA bloc having numerical strength in the Assembly.

Jharkhand Congress in-charge K. Raju said the party and JMM legislators voted as expected, but alleged that the RJD and the CPI-ML did not extend support. He claimed that some MLAs from these parties cross-voted in favour of the NDA-backed candidate.

Congress MLA and minister Deepika Pandey Singh also raised questions over the role of alliance partners, saying constituent parties should clarify their stand during voting.

The allegations were strongly denied by both the RJD and the CPI-ML.

RJD national General Secretary Bhola Yadav said all party MLAs voted in line with directions from party President Lalu Prasad and the leadership. He claimed he was present as an authorised agent during voting, and his party MLAs showed their votes to him, dismissing the Congress charge as baseless and unfortunate.

RJD state President and minister Sanjay Yadav, at a press conference here on Friday, said the party has always adhered to alliance discipline and advised the Congress to review its internal situation before blaming others.

RJD MLA Suresh Paswan accused the Congress of shifting the blame for its political failure onto allies, asserting that all four RJD MLAs supported the Congress candidate.

The CPI-ML too rejected the allegations. Party’s Jharkhand state Secretary Manoj Bhakta said both its MLAs voted for the Congress nominee and that authorised representatives monitored the voting process.

CPI-ML General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the Congress was attempting to hide its own weaknesses by targeting allies. He warned that making unsubstantiated allegations could damage the unity and credibility of the INDIA bloc.

Political analysts say the result has exposed internal contradictions within the alliance, with the Congress blaming allies for cross-voting while the RJD and the CPI-ML maintain that the party failed to secure the full backing of its own MLAs.

–IANS

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