Ranchi: Reversing its stand of abstaining, BJP on Friday voted in favour of JMM nominee in Rajya Sabya poll in Jharkhand.
"The earlier decision was to prevent horse-trading and today`s changed decision was also to stop horse-trading," BJP state unit president Dineshanand Goswami said.

"Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren had talked to our central leadership and requested to vote for JMM`s official candidate. He also pledged support to the NDA in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha against the anti-people policies of the UPA government," Goswami said.
Chief Minister Arjun Munda too said the review by the central leadership was taken in the wake of horse-trading like situation. "All the BJP MLAs cast votes to JMM`s official candidate Sanjeev Kumar following a decision by the central leadership."
On BJP national leader Ananth Kumar`s statement earlier that the party would abstain from voting to prevent horse trading, Munda said the leadership changed it in the wake of "a horse-trading like situation emerging in the state".

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

Hours before the RS polling began for two seats, the IT and police recovered Rs 2.15 crore in cash from a car near Namkum and detained two persons, one of them being the younger brother of independent candidate RK Agarwal.
A couple of days ago, Agarwal, a Jamshedpur-based businessman, had warned he would file a defamation suit against those accusing him of horse trading.

Meanwhile, Assembly secretariat sources told PTI that in all 79 votes were polled.
CPI (ML-Liberation) MLA Vinod Kumar Singh did not vote, the sources said.
While CPI (ML-Liberation) had announced that its lone MLA would abstain, one seat is vacant while there is one nominated MLA.
The EC has stopped counting of votes for Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand till its probe into seizure of the cash is completed.
"Counting has not yet started as there is no further information from the Election Commission," the sources said. Five candidates are in the fray for two RS seats in the state. They are Pradeep Kumar Balmachu (Congress), Praveen Singh (JVM-P), Sanjeev Kumar (JMM) and two independent candidates R K Agarwal and Pawan Kumar Dhoot.
PTI