Elected Jharkhand MP after cross-voting by Congress allies: Who is Parimal Nathwani?

Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani files his nomination papers for Rajya Sabha elections from Jharkhand on June 8. (File)

4 min readAhmedabadJun 19, 2026 09:09 PM IST

First published on: Jun 19, 2026 at 09:09 PM IST

On the back of cross-voting in Jharkhand’s Rajya Sabha elections, results for which were declared Thursday, the NDA-backed Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani, who is also Director of Corporate Affairs for Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), was elected to the Upper House for a fourth consecutive term since 2008.

As two Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant in Jharkhand, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) saw its candidate Baidyanath Ram elected, while the Congress’s candidate Pranav Jha lost out to Nathwani after its allies from the JMM-led coalition cross-voted in the election.

Nathwani, 70, a confidant of the Reliance Industries founder late Dhirubhai Ambani, is considered a key member of RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani’s core team.

Nathwani was first elected to the Rajya Sabha as an Independent from Jharkhand in 2008, and was re-elected in 2014. In 2020, he was elected to the Upper House for a third term from Andhra Pradesh as a candidate of the then ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP).

He is known to have played a key role in setting up of the world’s largest refinery complex at Jamnagar in Gujarat in 1999 and currently leads RIL’s Gujarat foray into the “new energy” business.

As vice-president of the Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) from 2010 to 2019, Nathwani was credited for successfully “monitoring, supervising and executing” the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad, in coordination with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in 2019. His son Dhanraj Nathwani is the current GCA chief and director at Reliance New Energy.

Highlighting the work done during Nathwani’s Rajya Sabha tenure, his office said that he had utilised almost 100% of his Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) funds for projects including the Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana to develop model villages, rural infrastructure, education, and health and sanitation. It also said he used personal funds for several development projects in Jharkhand, including a seminar hall for IIM-Ranchi.

With roots in Jamkhambhaliya in Gujarat’s Devbhoomi Dwarka district, Nathwani was born and raised in Mumbai, where he got his first job in the bleaching department of the New Era Mills. He later established a soap manufacturing unit in Mumbai that, according to his website, was a “disaster”.

After a stint as a trader at the Vadodara Stock Exchange in the 1990s, Nathwani met Dhirubhai Ambani in 1995 and helped the RIL founder acquire 10,000 acres of land in Moti Khavdi, Jamnagar, where the Reliance refinery would come up.

In 2006, Nathwani completed a doctorate degree in management from the National Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. From 2011 to 2012, he served as president of the Vadodara Stock Exchange.

Nathwani is also active in football administration as president of the Gujarat State Football Association since 2019. He is credited with initiatives such as the Gujarat Super League and AIFF Golden Baby League.

With deep religious interests, Nathwani has been a member of Nathdwara Temple Board since 2004 and was also vice-chairman of Dwarkadheesh Temple Trust in Devbhoomi Dwarka from 1999 to 2016.

Nathwani is known as a wildlife enthusiast in Gujarat, and has written two books and published a 12-episode documentary on Gir lions. He has served on the Advisory Committee of Gir Sanctuary and National Park since 2021.

He has also been the chairperson of the Indian Institute of Public Health in Gandhinagar since 2020.