Ranchi, June 6 (AHN) Differences within Jharkhand’s ruling alliance have come to the fore over the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Congress at odds over seat-sharing.

Hours after Congress announced Pranav Jha as its candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats from the state, the JMM decided that the party would field candidates for both seats.

A meeting of JMM legislators and senior leaders was held at the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and the MLAs authorised Soren, who is also JMM’s Executive President, to take a final call on the matter.

After the meeting, party leaders Yogendra Prasad and Hafizul Hasan told the media that there was a unanimous view among MLAs that the JMM should contest both seats. They added that the names of the party’s candidates would be announced before June 8.

JMM leaders said that as the largest political party in the state, it has a natural claim over both seats. The party’s stance comes at a time when the Congress had, late on Thursday night, announced Pranav Jha -- an AICC secretary and political adviser to Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge -- as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand.

Following the Congress announcement, it was widely believed that a consensus had been reached within the alliance on seat-sharing. However, the JMM’s decision has upended that assumption and brought to the surface long-simmering differences between the two allies.

Earlier, Congress President Kharge had spoken with Chief Minister Soren two days before the candidate announcement. Earlier, Congress’s Jharkhand in-charge K. Raju and Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka had visited Ranchi recently and urged the Chief Minister to allot one Rajya Sabha seat to the Congress.

Despite these efforts, the JMM staking claim to both seats has exposed cracks within the ruling alliance.

While the Congress has shown no signs of backing down after naming its candidate, the JMM too appears unwilling to let go of either seat.

The ruling alliance has the numbers in the Jharkhand Assembly to win both seats, but the standoff over candidates has raised questions over its unity. With the nomination process underway, the tussle between the two allies has become the dominant political development in the state. The attention now shifts to the next move of Hemant Soren and the Congress leadership.

The election for 24 Rajya Sabha seats will be held on June 18.