Unimaginable it may sound to many, but untrue it is not. Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s name is being considered for a Rajya Sabha nomination from Jharkhand by the state’s Opposition Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) led by former CM Babulal Marandi.
The JVM on Monday proposed Dhoni’s name for one of the two vacant seats from Jharkhand for which fresh polls are scheduled to be held on May 3 after the polls held on March 30 were cancelled amid widespread vote-buying allegations following seizure of about `2.15 crore in cash from a car in state capital Ranchi.
“Why not we send to the Rajya Sabha the person under whose leadership India won the cricket World Cup? Dhoni is a son of Ranchi. The other suitable candidate may be former Jharkhand DGP and honest officer Neyaz Ahmed,” said JVM vice-president and former minister Samaresh Singh.
Considering Mr Singh’s proximity to Mr Marandi, the suggestion of Dhoni’s nomination for a RS berth is being viewed as a serious proposal within the party. Mr Marandi, who had asked the EC before the last RS polls to take strong measures to prevent vote-buying tactics, had written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday urging her to field an apolitical person and a “son of the soil” for the RS polls.
JVM sources, however, said Singh’s suggestion about Dhoni was yet to be ratified by the party’s core committee and that there has been “informal discussions” with Dhoni on this issue. The cricket idol had reportedly assured JVM leaders that he would “think of” their suggestion.
Amid ongoing efforts to put up a joint Opposition candidate for the RS polls, distances between allies JVM and the Congress appeared to be growing. “We will never support the Congress candidate,” said Samresh Singh to journalists in Ranchi.