NEW DELHI: Legislators across eight states started voting for 19 Rajya Sabha seats on Friday with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.
Originally, the poll was to take place on March 26 for 55 Upper House seats, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest.
The EC had deferred the March 26 Rajya Sabha elections citing the threat of the novel coronavirus. The Election Commission had later announced polls for four seats in Karnataka and one seat each in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
In Karnataka, where elections were to be held for four seats, all the candidates — former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP candidates Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti — have been declared elected unopposed.
BJP nominee Nabam Rebia was also elected unopposed to the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Arunachal Pradesh. The counting of votes for all the 19 seats will be held on the evening of June 19 itself, the EC said.
With many MLAs switching sides, the past few months have seen parties indulging in ‘resort politics’ to keep their flock together.
Several MLAs have been lodged in resorts to stop them from “poaching” by
rival factions.
RS poll in Gujarat to take place as per schedule
Voting for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat began in Gandhinagar on Friday, where the contest between the Congress and the BJP is likely to go down to wire as none of the two parties have absolute numbers.
The BJP has fielded three candidates for four seats, while the Congress has given tickets to two candidates.
The BJP, with its numbers can easily win two seats, while the Congress can bag one seat.
But there is a tough fight for the fourth seat between the two parties.
Both the parties have expressed hope that all their candidates will win the Rajya Sabha polls.
BJP has fielded Abhay Bharadwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin, while the Congress has fielded Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki.
The election commission has made elaborate preparation for the conduct of elections as it is being held during the coronaviurs pandemic.
Every voter (MLA) is being screened for temperatures and will have use mask and maintain social distance.
For those with fever or other symptoms a separate waiting room has been kept.
Earlier, one MLA from the Congress and three from BJP had tested positive for coronavirus but all of them have recovered now.
As per the numbers, each candidate will require support of 35 MLAs to win the seat.
While the BJP has 103 MLAs, Congress has 65, Bharatiya Tribal Party has two seats, NCP has one and independent candidate Jignesh Mewani holds one seat.
Although the total strength of the assembly is 182, its effective strength has come down to 172 as 10 assembly seats are currently vacant -- eight due to resignations of Congress MLAs and two due to court cases.
The counting of votes will begin at 5 pm.
The Supreme Court earlier refused to stay Rajya Sabha elections in the state while turning down a plea by Congress leader Paresh Dhanani.
The leader of opposition in Gujarat Assembly had challenged voting in the election through postal ballot. Denying a stay on the June 19 election, the court fixed the matter for after four weeks.
Polls start in Bhopal
Voting for the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh began in the state assembly complex on Friday morning.
As the voting process began at 9 am, BJP members along with the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan reached the assembly premises here to cast their votes.
Congress members along with the former chief minister Kamal Nath also reached the assembly complex for voting.
The first vote was cast by Chouhan, followed by state Home Minister Narottam Mishra.
All the members were seen wearing masks and standing in a queue maintaining mandatory social distance in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The BJP has fielded senior leader and former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and former professor of a government college Sumer Singh Solanki for the Rajya Sabha polls.
The Congress has fielded party veteran Digvijaya Singh and Dalit leader Phool Singh Baraiya for the crucial elections.
For winning a seat in the Rajya Sabha polls, a candidate needs 52 votes and as per the numerical strength of the two parties, BJP is set to win two seats as it has 107 MLAs of its own and enjoys the support of two MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), one MLA of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and two Independents, party sources said.
The saffron party has the support of 112 in the 230- member Assembly whose effective strength is 206.
Scindia and Solanki, thus, can get the 52 votes each needed for victory.
In the 230-member Madhya Pradesh assembly, 24 seats are currently vacant.
Congress has been left with 92 MLAs after 22 of its legislators, including six ministers, quit the party in support of Scindia's move to join the BJP.
Thus, Congress is set to win a single seat out of the total three for which polls are being held, sources added.
The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) had asked 54 of its 92 MLAs to cast their first preference vote for Digvijaya Singh.
The former chief minister needs 52 votes to get elected to Rajya Sabha for the second consecutive term.
Baraiya, placed after Singh in the pecking order by his party, does not have the numbers on his side to win.
(With PTI Inputs)
