The Rajya Sabha biennial elections slated for Tuesday have already seen 41 candidates declared victorious because of the absence of opposition, leaving 15 seats open for polling. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh are the states the place polling will happen. Voting for the Rajya Sabha seats will likely be held at this time and the outcomes can even be introduced later within the day.
Uttar Pradesh: Excessive-Stakes Electoral Battle
Within the 403-member Uttar Pradesh State Meeting, the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) and the Samajwadi Celebration (SP) stand as the 2 largest events, boasting 252 and 108 MLAs respectively. The Congress, aligned with the SP, holds two seats. Moreover, BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 13 seats, the NISHAD Celebration holds six, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has 9, the Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Celebration (SBSP) maintains six, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik has two, and the Bahujan Samaj Celebration (BSP) holds one seat. Presently, 4 seats stay vacant.
Among the many BJP’s candidates are former Union minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, Amarpal Maurya, the final secretary of the celebration’s Uttar Pradesh unit, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant, celebration spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain. On the opposite aspect, the Samajwadi Celebration has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Dalit chief Ramji Lal Suman.
With a view to safe a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh, a candidate requires practically 37 first desire votes, in accordance with an official cited by PTI. Returning Officer Brijbhushan Dubey acknowledged {that a} candidate will want 36.37 first desire votes to emerge victorious, as per PTI. Presently, the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Meeting includes 399 MLAs. Notably, SP MLAs Irfan Solanki and Ramakant Yadav, together with Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Celebration (SBSP) legislator Abbas Ansari, are at the moment serving time in jail.
Polling for the Rajya Sabha elections will happen from 9 am to 4 pm, with counting set to start from 5 pm. The outcomes are anticipated to be introduced on Tuesday night time, he knowledgeable.
In line with PTI, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya expressed confidence within the BJP’s success, stating, “All of the BJP candidates will register a win within the Rajya Sabha elections.”
SP’s chief whip within the legislative meeting, Manoj Pandey, assured, “All SP MLAs will likely be voting for the celebration’s candidates within the Rajya Sabha election.”
As per PTI, Congress MLA Virendra Chaudhary affirmed, “With the Congress and SP forging an alliance for the upcoming Lok Sabha election, the image right here can also be very clear. We are going to vote for the candidates fielded by the SP.”
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Karnataka: Potential for Cross-Voting?
Forward of the biennial election in Karnataka to fill 4 vacancies within the Rajya Sabha, the Congress has moved all its MLAs to a lodge to keep up unity. 5 candidates, together with nominees from Congress, BJP, and JD(S), are within the fray, PTI reported. Amid fears of cross-voting, events have issued whips to their MLAs. The BJP-JD(S) alliance’s resolution to discipline a second candidate has intensified the electoral state of affairs.
Right here, 5 candidates — Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (all Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP), and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)) — are within the fray.
Himachal Pradesh: BJP Objects To Congress’ Whip
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has accused the Congress of pressuring its MLAs by issuing a whip to vote for celebration candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. BJP’s Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan raised objections, stating such actions undermine the democratic course of, as reported by PTI. Regardless of Congress’ majority, the BJP is contesting with optimism.
Chief of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur criticised the Congress for issuing a whip directing its MLAs to vote for celebration candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Thakur highlighted that the Election Fee of India explicitly acknowledged that whips can’t be issued for elections, suggesting that the Congress’s motion goals to stress its legislators, as per PTI. He emphasised that the Congress instructed its MLAs to show the poll paper to the celebration’s authorised agent, with failure to conform leading to invalidation of votes. Thakur alleged that the police had been monitoring the MLAs’ telephones and monitoring their places, PTI reported.
Involved about BJP Rajya Sabha candidate Harsh Mahajan’s potential victory claims, the Congress beforehand issued a whip instructing its MLAs to vote for Abhishek Manu Singhvi. In response, the BJP candidate filed a criticism with the chief election commissioner, condemning the Congress’s whip as unethical and detrimental to the decision-making means of MLAs.
Mahajan, a former three-time Congress MLA and minister who joined the BJP after resigning from the celebration in September 2022, voiced his objections to the Congress’s techniques forward of the Rajya Sabha elections.
Polling for one Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh will happen on Tuesday. The Congress has a transparent majority with 40 out of 68 MLAs and the help of three unbiased MLAs. Although the BJP, with 25 MLAs, is much behind within the quantity recreation, it has compelled a contest by fielding Mahajan towards Singhvi.