The biennial elections to fill vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha are being held today, March 16, across 10 states, with counting of votes slated to take place from 5 pm.
The polls are being held to fill 37 vacancies across 10 states, namely Assam (3), Bihar (5), Chhattisgarh (2), Haryana (2), Himachal Pradesh (1), Maharashtra (7), Odisha (four), Tamil Nadu (6), Telangana (2), and West Bengal (5).
Nitish Kumar in particular came into focus ahead of the polls, with Bihar’s longest-tenured Chief Minister announcing his move to the Rajya Sabha and filing his nomination papers in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others.
“I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steady. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance,” Kumar had posted on X at the time.
Which seats are up for grabs?
Of the 37 seats going to the polls, unopposed victories have already been secured by contesting candidates in 26 seats, as per news agency. ANIleaving only 11 up for grabs.
These 11 seats, which will see voting on Monday, include five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana.
As many as 40 candidates had filed their nominations for the 37 seats. Now, 14 candidates remain in the fray for the 11 seats going to polls.
Key battlegrounds
In Bihar, the NDA is confident of sweeping the polls in all five seats, with three of its key leaders — Nitish Kumar of the JD(U), Nitin Nabin of the BJP, and Upendra Kushwaha of the RLM — in the fray. The two other candidates in Bihar are Union minister Ram Nath Thakur of the JD(U), who is looking for a hattrick, and BJP state general secretary Shivesh Kumar.
Odisha, meanwhile, is seeing a high-stakes political drama play out over the polls, amid fears of cross-voting. Both the Congress and the BJP have moved several MLAs to resorts in Bengaluru and Paradip respectively, with the Congress even claiming that four now-arrested men attempted to bribe its MLAs in Bengaluru. BJD chief Naveen Patnaik also met MLAs for three consecutive days to appeal them to desist from cross-voting.
Haryana too is seeing some drama over fears of cross-voting, with Congress initially shifting its MLAs to resorts in Kufri near Shimla, where Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met them for lunch. Later in the day, the MLAs were shifted to Kasauli, about 60 km from Chandigarh, amid heavy security. The Haryana Congress too has accused the ruling BJP of attempting to bribe its MLAs, but the saffron party has denied the claims.
Uncontested victories
Of the 26 uncontested victories in the Rajya Sabha polls, the BJP secured seven wins, Congress five, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and the Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL one each.
Notable leaders who were elected or re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament include NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.
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