Jharkhand Congress demands cancellation of BJP-backed Nathwani's RS poll nomination

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Workers of the Congress' Jharkhand unit staged a protest in Ranchi on Wednesday (June 10, 2026), demanding the cancellation of the nomination of Parimal Nathwani, a BJP-backed Independent nominee for the Rajya Sabha (RS) polls in Jharkhand.

The party leaders held the protest on the Jharkhand Assembly premises over alleged discrepancies in Mr. Nathwani's nomination papers and later staged a sit-in. They accused Mr. Nathwani of providing false and incomplete information in his nomination papers.

"We are demanding an impartial investigation and necessary action over the alleged serious discrepancies and incomplete information in the nomination papers of the BJP-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani," said Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, the Jharkhand Unit Chief of the Congress.

"We have raised multiple discrepancies in his nomination papers. Despite this, the Election Commission is giving him extra time to furnish clarifications on the discrepancies," he added.

Mr. Nathwani, the Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh, filed his nomination papers for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand on Monday (June 8, 2026), along with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)candidate Baidyanath Ram and Congress nominee Pranav Jha.

“The Returning Officer put his nomination on hold and gave him a deadline of 11 a.m. on Wednesday (June 10, 2026) to resolve the objections,” a BJP office-bearer said. A close aide of Mr. Nathwani, however, claimed that the objections that had been raised were resolved. The last date for withdrawal of nomination is June 11, while the polling will be held on June 18.

To ensure victory, a candidate is required to secure a minimum of 28 first-preference votes. In the Jharkhand Assembly, the INDIA bloc has 56 members, comprising 34 from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), 16 from the Congress, four from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and two from CPI(ML) Liberation.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 24 MLAs, 21 from the BJP and one each from the Lok Janshakti Part