Rajya Sabha Elections 2024: Voting Underway In UP, Himachal And Karnataka | Latest Developments

rajya sabha elections: voting underway in uttar pradesh, himachal pradesh and karnataka | latest developments

New Delhi: Voting for the Rajya Sabha election is underway as three states are expected to witness heated contests between the BJP and the INDIA bloc on Tuesday. The polling is taking place for three states across the country: Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.

Here Are 10 Points On The Rajya Sabha Elections:

1. In Uttar Pradesh, there are a total of 10 Rajya Sabha seats and 11 candidates in the fray, where 8 candidates belong to the BJP and 3 from the Samajwadi Party.

2. On Monday, some of the SP members went missing from a dinner hosted by the party leader Akhilesh Yadav. Reports have suggested that a total of eight MLAs were missing from the dinner and now the fear is they could cross-vote, ANI reported.

3. The BJP has fielded seven candidates in UP including former Union Minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain. However, with the BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as the eighth candidate, a major fight is on the cards.

4. The SP has fielded actor MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Ramji Lal Suman in Uttar Pradesh.

5. In Karnataka, where the Congress initially anticipated smooth sailing for its four candidates in three seats, the BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance complicated matters by introducing a second candidate. If there are four candidates, each would need 45 votes to win, and if more, preference votes come into play.

6. In order to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, a candidate requires nearly 37 first-preference votes.

7. In Himachal Pradesh, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi filed his nomination for the Rajya Sabha polls. Meanwhile, BJP has fielded Harsh Mahajan, a close aide of six-time chief minister Virbhadra Singh against Singhvi.

8. All the political parties issued whips to their MLAs ahead of the crucial election scheduled today. Amid fears of cross-voting in Karnataka, the ruling Congress had moved its MLAs to a designated “safe house” in order to protect them from potential external influences.

9. The tenure of Rajya Sabha MPs is six years, and elections are held every two years for 33 per cent of the seats. Presently, the Rajya Sabha has a total strength of 245 members.

10. Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections in the country later this year, the outcome of the polls to the Rajya Sabha in Uttar Pradesh is likely to have an impact on the politically crucial state.