News Brief
Rajya Sabha Polls: 41 MPs Elected Unopposed, Elections For 15 More Seats Today Amid Cross-Voting Concerns—Here's All You Need To Know
Rajya Sabha proceeding.
The elections for 15 Rajya Sabha seats in three states are being conducted today (27 February), amid concerns about potential cross-voting by MLAs from the Congress and the Samajwadi Party.
Three seats are particularly contested—one each in Uttar Pradesh, Congress-ruled Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
Out of 56 seats that are falling vacant, 41 leaders have been elected unopposed, including former Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, BJP's JP Nadda, Ashok Chavan, and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan.
The elections are focused on Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh for the remaining 15 seats.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has nominated eight candidates, while the opposition Samajwadi Party has three candidates for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats, leading to a keen contest for one seat.
The key is the number of first preference votes a candidate receives, with 37 being the crucial number.
The BJP is reportedly counting on extra votes from Ajit Singh's Rashtriya Lok Dal, which is closely aligned with the NDA.
BJP leaders claim that around 10 MLAs from Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, which is allied with the Congress, are in communication with them, a claim the SP firmly denies.
The BJP's candidates include former Union minister R P N Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, senior state leader Amarpal Maurya, former minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain. The party's eighth candidate is Sanjay Seth, a former Samajwadi Party member and industrialist.
In Karnataka, to avoid any undue influence, the ruling Congress has shifted its MLAs in a private hotel, a tactic seen before in the state's tumultuous political history.
State party chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has dismissed any chance of cross-voting by Congress MLAs.
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has challenged the Congress for the state's single seat by nominating Harsh Mahajan against Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Despite the Congress having 40 MLAs to the BJP's 25, this election is viewed as a significant contest for Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by MLAs using a proportional representation system with a single transferable vote.
MLAs rank candidates by preference, with their first choice being most significant. A candidate needs a specific number of first preference votes to win; otherwise, votes are transferred to the next preferred candidate.
The BJP, which currently holds 28 of the 56 vacant Rajya Sabha seats, is expected to secure at least 29 seats following the election.
In Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA bloc is expected to gain one seat, with the SP likely increasing its tally from one to two seats.
The Rajya Sabha has a total strength of 245 members, with elections conducted every two years for one-third of its seats. Each Rajya Sabha MP serves a six-year term.
