Biennial elections to fill 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states took place on Monday.
The seats are falling vacant as the terms of 37 members representing Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana are due to end in April, paving the way for the election of new representatives.
Of the total seats, 26 candidates have already been elected unopposed. Polling was held for the remaining 11 seats: five in Bihar, four in Odisha and two in Haryana. The counting of votes is underway.
In the crucial contests across Bihar, Haryana and Odisha, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is making efforts to counter advances by the Opposition.
A look at RS polls in different states
Haryana
For the two seats, the BJP has fielded Sanjay Bhatia, while the Congress has nominated Karamvir Singh Boudh. Independent candidate Satish Nandal is also contesting, with the BJP extending its support to him for the second seat. Nandal had earlier contested the 2019 Assembly elections as a BJP candidate but was unsuccessful. He currently serves as one of the party’s state vice-presidents.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which has two MLAs, stayed away from the voting process. Meanwhile, Congress legislators who had been moved to Himachal Pradesh returned soon after polling began at 9 am and exercised their franchise.
At the same time, Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi told reporters that the BJP had lodged a complaint with the Election Commission alleging a “violation of vote secrecy” involving two Congress MLAs.
Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, who is serving as an observer for the Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana, told reporters that it was unfortunate that the Congress had shifted its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh and kept them under close watch.
In the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the BJP holds 48 seats, while the Congress has 37 legislators. The INLD has two MLAs and three members are Independents.
Two candidates would need 31 votes each to make it to the Rajya Sabha.
Odisha
In Odisha, voting for four Rajya Sabha seats concluded at 6 pm on Monday. Reports suggested that at least five MLAs from the opposition BJD and Congress cross-voted in favor of BJP-backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray, according to PTI.
Rajya Sabha polling was held in the state after a gap of 12 years, as five candidates are contesting for four seats that are set to fall vacant on April 2. The voting process began at 9 am and proceeded smoothly for the first three hours until noon.
Former Chief Minister of Odisha and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, Naveen Patnaik, on Monday hit out at the BJP over the Rajya Sabha polls, claiming horse-trading and individuals with criminal backgrounds were involved.
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP has 79 MLAs along with the backing of three Independent legislators, while the BJD’s strength stands at 48 following the suspension of two of its members on January 15. The Congress has 14 MLAs, and the CPI(M) has one representative.
Under the Rajya Sabha voting calculations in the state, a candidate needs 30 first-preference votes to secure election. With the support of 82 legislators, the BJP is expected to have 22 surplus votes after ensuring victory for its two nominees. In a similar manner, the BJD would be left with 18 extra votes after electing its single candidate.
JD(U)’s national working president Sanjay Kumar Jha mentioned, “NDA’s all five candidates will win. We don’t care what opposition parties are claiming.”
Bihar
The ruling NDA in Bihar on Monday looked set for a comfortable win in the biennial elections to five Rajya Sabha seats, with its nominees including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP national president Nitin Nabin.
PTI reported citing alliance sources who claimed that “all 202 MLAs” belonging to the NDA had participated in the polling process. The coalition’s strength includes Kumar’s JD(U), the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) led by Union minister Chirag Paswan, the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) headed by Jitan Ram Manjhi, and the Rashtriya Lok Morcha of Upendra Kushwaha, who is also among the candidates.
In contrast, the opposition Mahagathbandhan appeared to lose ground, with three Congress MLAs and one RJD legislator remaining absent from voting, even as parties outside the alliance such as the AIMIM and the BSP took part in the polling.
The AIMIM, which has five MLAs in the Assembly, along with the lone BSP legislator, stated that they had cast their votes in favor of RJD nominee Amarendra Dhari Singh. Sources indicated that the presence of the absent opposition MLAs might have improved the coalition’s chances of securing at least one seat.
Under the Rajya Sabha election formula in Bihar, each candidate would have required a minimum of 41 votes to win if all 243 MLAs had participated in the voting. The AIMIM had announced on Sunday that all its five legislators would back the RJD candidate in the contest.
The results are expected to be announced later in the evening.
(With inputs from agency)
