Will Election Commission countermand Jharkhand Rajya Sabha polls

Two crores have been found this morning in a car in Ranchi. The vehicle belongs to a businessman whose brother, R K Agarwal, is contesting the Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand today. Mr Agarwal is an independent candidate.

The Election Commission has met this morning to discuss whether to countermand the election amid allegations of votes being bought. 17 MLAs have already voted for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Jharkhand.

The state has a notorious history of serving as an entry point to the Rajya Sabha for wealthy businessmen.

This time around, the Left's Gurudas Dasgupta had written to the Election Commission alleging that MLAs who vote for the Rajya Sabha MPs are being "horse-traded." He also complained that Jharkhand has begun hosting outsiders with little or no experience in politics as candidates for the Rajya Sabha.

The most controversial candidate this year was Anshuman Mishra, an NRI who resides in London. He was initially offered support by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) but withdrew from the election after some of the party's most senior leaders said they would ask BJP MLAs to vote against him. R K Aggarwal, who is being backed by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), is a businessman from Chhattisgarh. Another candidate, Pawan Kumar Dhoot is a businessman from Kolkata.