Rajya Sabha Elections 2026 | Parimal Nathwani Elected To Upper House From Jharkhand
In Jharkhand, independent Parimal Nathwani and JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram were elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
Published : June 18, 2026 at 10:33 AM IST
|Updated : June 18, 2026 at 8:13 PM IST
Ranchi/Aizawl: National Democratic Alliance-backed independent candidate and prominent industrialist Parimal Nathwani secured a landslide victory in the Rajya Sabha seat in Jharkhand.
Nathwani, relying on his strong popularity and cross-voting, defeated his rivals. Nathwani secured a substantial vote count, ensuring his victory. The BJP and NDA allies had openly supported him. Several leaders, including former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, had already expressed confidence that Nathwani would win comfortably.
JMM candidate Baidyanath Ram was also elected to the Rajya Sabha from Jharkhand.
Parimal Nathwani's political journey
Parimal Nathwani, who was on February 1, 1956, is the Corporate Affairs Director of Reliance Industries Limited. He served as a Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand in 2008 and 2014. He later contested and won the 2020 elections from Andhra Pradesh. Now, by returning to Jharkhand, he has strengthened his roots.
Nathwani's nomination was controversial, but the returning officer accepted it. Congress opposed it, but it had no impact on Nathwani's candidature. During his nomination, he stated that he had support from every party and would win based on his past achievements.
Electoral equations and results, congratulations on victory
Jharkhand held elections for two Rajya Sabha seats. One seat was considered a near-certainty for the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha candidate, while the other was a three-way contest. Nathwani, facing the JMM-Congress alliance candidate, got strong NDA support. The NDA had sufficient votes based on the number of MLAs, but the possibility of cross-voting remained.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote on his social media account, "Congratulations to NDA-supported candidate Parimal Nathwani on his victory in the Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand. He received a total of 28 votes. The Congress candidate received only 20 votes, and the Grand Alliance suffered a crushing defeat.
Earlier, voting was held for the election to three Rajya Sabha seats, one in Mizoram and two in Jharkhand, as part of the biennial elections to the upper house.
The Congress candidate Pranav Jha lost the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand. Congress state in-charge K. Raju stated that the RJD and the CPI(ML) failed to vote for their candidate.
Pranav Jha congratulated Baidyanath Ram and Parimal Nathwani.
Pranav Jha acknowledged his defeat and said that victory is always possible in elections. Expressing gratitude to all the MLAs who voted for him, he said, "We hope that both winning candidates will play their part in the development of Jharkhand."
The Congress candidate received only 20 votes, while independent candidate Parimal Nathwani received 28. Meanwhile, Baidyanath Ram of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha received 30 votes. The votes cast by three MLAs have been declared invalid.
24 Seats Elected Unopposed
On June 1, the Election Commission of India issued notifications for elections to 27 Rajya Sabha seats, including 24 vacancies due to retirements in 10 states, and three by-elections in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha, necessitated by resignations.
The deadline for the withdrawal of nominations was June 11. As multiple states had an exact matching number of valid candidates for their vacant seats, as many as 24 people, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Pawan Khera, and BJP's Tarun Chugh, were declared winners without a single vote needing to be cast, leaving just voting to be held in just three seats today.
ZPM's K Laltluangkima elected to Rajya Sabha from Mizoram
Mizoram's ruling Zoram People's Movement (ZPM) on Thursday secured its first-ever representation in the Rajya Sabha as party leader K Laltluangkima won the election to the lone Upper House seat from the state.
Laltluangkima secured 26 of the 36 votes polled, defeating Zothansangi Hmar of the opposition Mizo National Front (MNF), who received all 10 votes cast by her party's legislators, according to Assembly Secretary and Returning Officer Zothansanga Ralte. Three legislators abstained from voting, including BJP MLAs K Beichhua and K Hrahmo, as well as lone Congress legislator C Ngunlianchunga.
ZPM legislator W Chhuanawma was unable to vote due to health reasons, Ralte said. In the 40-member Mizoram Assembly, the ZPM holds 27 seats, followed by the MNF with 10, while the BJP and Congress have two and one legislators, respectively.
The victory marks a significant political milestone for the ZPM, which was founded in 2017. Laltluangkima became the party's first Rajya Sabha member and the eighth person from Mizoram to be elected to the Upper House since 1972, when the state was still a Union territory. The outgoing Rajya Sabha member is K Vanlalvena of the MNF.
Born in October 1963, Laltluangkima holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from St Anthony's College, and later pursued Christian Communication Studies at Trinity and All Saints College in England. He also earned a Master's degree in Plumbing from an institution in Maryland, USA.
Before entering politics, he served for 12 years as Manager of the Synod Electronic Communication Department of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church. He was also the founder of Kristian Naupang, a children's magazine published by the church.
Laltluangkima joined active politics in 1997 through the MNF (Nationalist), which later was rechristened as the Zoram Nationalist Party (ZNP) founded by Lalduhoma. He first contested the Assembly election from Bilkhawthlir constituency in 1998 but lost to MNF candidate Lalchamliana by a margin of 1,256 votes. He currently serves as member secretary of the ZPM's Political Affairs Committee and is also the party's official spokesperson.
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