Congress in talks with Hemant Soren to field party candidate from one of 2 Rajya Sabha seats going to Jharkhand elections

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren with Congress state in-charge K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka at his official residence on Friday. | Photo credit: Special arrangement

Jharkhand Congress leader K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on Friday met Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to discuss the fielding of a Congress candidate from one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand, which will go to polls on June 18.

One seat fell vacant after the death of former Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) president and former CM Shiba Soren last year. The other will fall vacant on June 21 when BJP leader Deepak Prakash’s term ends.

Earlier, while interacting with mediators after arriving at the Ranchi airport, Mr. Raju said, “We will sit with the CM to discuss the strategy for the elections and our candidate.”

On whether the party would field a local candidate or an outsider, Mr. Raju said only a local candidate would be considered. “The party is targeting a local candidate. We have already informed the party high command about it. Earlier we saw non-local candidates being elected to the Rajya Sabha in other states, but we told the high command that the sentiment of the people is very strong in Jharkhand, so it would be wise to field a local candidate,” he said.

Former state Congress president Rajesh Thakur and former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahay are the frontrunners for the seat, according to party sources.

“Who will go to the upper house and who will be the candidate will be decided by the high command based on the reports of the responsible state and other leaders,” State Congress president Keshav Mahto Kamlesh said.

Out of 81 seats in the Assembly, the JMM-led ruling alliance has 56 MLAs, including 34 JMM, 16 Congress, four Rashtriya Janata Dal and two Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. The opposition alliance has 24 MLAs: 21 from BJP and one each from All Jharkhand Students Union, Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas). The House also has an independent legislature.

According to the schedule announced by the Election Commission, the notification for the Rajya Sabha elections will be issued on June 1. Candidates can submit nomination papers until June 8. The review of the candidate lists will take place on June 9. The deadline for downloading nominations is June 11. Voting will be held on June 18 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM Counting of votes will begin on the same day at 5:00 PM

Published – 30 May 2026 02:09 IST