New Delhi, March 16
The biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha to fill 37 seats across 10 states are scheduled on Monday, with counting of votes set for the same day at 5 pm.
The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.
Out of these, 26 candidates have already secured victory unopposed. Voting will now take place for the remaining 11 seats, including five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana.
In key battlegrounds in Bihar, Haryana, and Odisha, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is working to defeat Opposition gains.
So far, 26 candidates have been elected unopposed, with the BJP securing seven, Congress five, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL one each. Notable names among the winners include Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.
As preparations are underway for the biennial elections, all attention has turned to Haryana, Bihar and Odisha, which have emerged as key arenas of contest between the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Opposition bloc for four important seats.
The most interesting part of these Rajya Sabha polls is the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Nitish Kumar, Bihar's longest-tenured Chief Minister for over two decades, announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and filed his nomination in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among other leaders.
The 75-year-old also said that the new Cabinet would have his full support.
"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 steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X.
Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including Upendra Kushwaha and BJP chief Nitin Nabin, also filed their nominations for the Upper House.
Amid apprehensions of possible cross-voting and allegations of horse-trading, several political parties, particularly the Congress, have moved their legislators to resorts and locations outside their home states in a bid to ensure unity within their ranks ahead of the polling.
Among those elected without contest are Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) founder Sharad Pawar, Republican Party of India (Athawale) president Ramdas Athawale, and senior AIADMK leader M Thambidurai.
The counting of votes will be conducted on the same day as polling at 5 pm.
- ANI
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