The biennial elections for the Rajya Sabha, set to occur on Tuesday, have already seen 41 candidates secure their seats in the Upper House unopposed due to a lack of opposition. This leaves seats available in three states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
Voting will take place for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka, and one in Himachal Pradesh from 9 am to 4 pm on Tuesday, with counting beginning at 5 pm the same day. The threat of cross-voting is significant, with parties closely monitoring their MLAs.
Of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats up for election on Tuesday, 41 members have essentially secured their seats in the Upper House, though the results will be officially announced on February 27. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has nominated eight candidates and the opposing Samajwadi Party three for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats. Both the BJP and the SP have the numbers to send seven and three members respectively, unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.
With BJP's Sanjay Seth running as the eighth candidate, a competitive clash is anticipated in one of the seats. To be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, a candidate requires approximately 37 first preference votes. In Karnataka, the incumbent Congress has relocated all its MLAs to a hotel prior to the biennial election to fill four vacancies.
Five candidates, namely Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (all Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP) and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)), are contesting. All parties have issued whips to the MLAs, who will vote in Tuesday's poll, due to fears of cross-voting. Similarly, in Himachal Pradesh, Congress has issued a whip to all its MLAs to vote for party candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, a move which BJP alleges is to exert pressure on the MLAs. BJP maintains that legislators have been elected democratically and should vote according to their preference. The Congress has a significant majority in the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha polls with 40 out of 68 MLAs and the backing of three independent MLAs.
BJP President JP Nadda, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradesh, Union IT Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw and former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were among the 41 candidates who won unopposed in the recent election round. The remaining 15 seats, with 10 in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka, and one in Himachal Pradesh are expected to see tough competition. Nadda was nominated as the party's candidate from Gujarat and Vaishnaw was elected for a second term to the Upper House with support from Biju Janata Dal from Odisha. Sonia Gandhi, Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore from BJP were elected unopposed in Rajasthan. In Gujarat, diamond merchant Govindbhai Dholakia, Jasvantsinh Parmar, and OBC Morcha chief Mayank Nayak were also elected unopposed. JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha from Bihar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha. In West Bengal, four Trinamool Congress members, Mamata Thakur, Sagarika Ghose, Sushmita Devi, and Mohammed Nadimul Haque were elected unopposed. BJP's Shamik Bhattacharya was the first MP to reach the Upper House. The BJP won the highest number of 20 seats, followed by the Congress (6), Trinamool Congress (4), YSR Congress (3), RJD (2), BJD (2) and NCP, Shiv Sena, BRS and JD(U) one each. The term for 50 Rajya Sabha members from 13 states is set to conclude on April 2, while the remaining six members from two states are due to retire on April 3.
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