On Tuesday (27th February), voting for 56 Rajya Sabha seats from 15 states is underway. In January, the Election Commission notified elections for 56 seats across 15 states that would fall vacant in April, but only three states are holding polls because the remaining MPs were elected unopposed.
Despite the BJP’s strong Assembly election victories in three Hindi heartland states in December and the changing political dynamic in Bihar, earlier estimates projected that the composition of the Rajya Sabha would remain relatively stable. However, in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka, where there have been indications of cross-voting, the votes might surprise some.
Before voting day, the ruling NDA had 109 MPs in the Upper House, 10 short of the halfway point in the 238-member Rajya Sabha. The opposition group had 89 MPs.
Uttar Pradesh has the most seats up for vote (10), followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (6 each), Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (5 each), Karnataka and Gujarat (4 each), Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan (3 each), and Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Chhattisgarh (1 each).
According to the Assembly’s strength, the BJP and the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) had enough seats to send 7 and 3 members to the Upper House, respectively, but this changed when the BJP fielded Sanjay Seth as their eighth candidate. The result in one seat could now be decided by cross-voting.
In Karnataka, three Congress MPs and one BJP MP will retire. However, by forming an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular) and nominating one of its members for a Rajya Sabha seat, the BJP has ensured a struggle between five contenders for four vacancies. Congress, which has 134 MLAs, claims to have the support of three Independents, while two BJP and many JD(S) MLAs were expected to vote for Congress candidates. The BJP-JD(S) alliance has 85 MLAs, five less than the 90 votes needed to elect two MPs.
In Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress has 40 MLAs after winning the 2022 Assembly elections, there is just one Rajya Sabha seat, which was vacated by the BJP President J P Nadda. However, due to internal party unrest, at least 9 MLAs are reported to have cross-voted on Tuesday.
The Congress has fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi, while the BJP’s candidate is Harsh Mahajan. Interestingly, with 25 MLAs, the BJP is nine votes shy of the halfway point in the 68-member Assembly.
Of the 56 retiring MPs, 28 are from the BJP and 10 from the Congress. The BJP, which was anticipated to retain around the same number of seats, could possibly win more seats in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The Congress, which was expected to win 9 seats and possibly 1 more in Bihar with the support of its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), is certain to lose in Himachal Pradesh.
Notably, polling for Himachal Pradesh’s lone Rajya Sabha seat began at 9 am on Tuesday and finished with Congress MLA from Chintpurni Sudershan Babloo casting the final ballot. The polling was quick, and all 68 members voted. Ashish, an independent MLA from Hamipur, cast the first vote.
Congress MLA Babloo was flown to the Assembly via helicopter due to illness. Further, after casting his vote, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that the MLAs voted based on the party’s principles.
In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress had issued a whip urging all MLAs to vote for the party’s nominee, Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The BJP then criticised the measure, claiming that parliamentarians have the freedom to vote based on their views.
Meanwhile, of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs today, 41 have effectively secured their positions in the upper house.
