Cross-voting gives BJP edge in Himachal, UP; Congress success in Karnataka
In Karnataka, Congress won three out of four Rajya Sabha seats, while the BJP secured one. On the other hand, the BJP emerged victorious in Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
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In Short
- In Karnataka, Congress wins three seats and BJP bags one
- BJP's Harsh Mahajan emerges victorious in Himachal Pradesh
- BJP won eight seats in Uttar Pradesh and Samajwadi Party bagged two
During the election for 15 Rajya Sabha seats across three states, the BJP secured wins in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh amid widespread cross-voting. Meanwhile, the Congress claimed the majority of seats in Karnataka.
The Congress won three Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka with Ajay Maken, Nasser Hussain, and GC Chandrashekar emerging victorious. On the other hand, BJP candidate Narayansa Bhandage won one seat.
The fifth candidate, JD(S) leader D Kupendra Reddy, lost the election with just 36 votes.
In Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan won the lone Rajya Sabha seat, defeating the ruling Congress candidate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Notably, the BJP emerged victorious via draw of lots after a tie with Congress at 34 votes.
In Uttar Pradesh, where polls for 10 seats were held, the BJP won all eight seats it contested. On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party won two out of three seats it contested.
At least seven Samajwadi Party MLAs, namely Rakesh Pandey, Abhay Singh, Rakesh Pratap Singh, Manoj Pandey, Vinod Chaturvedi, Puja Pal, Ashutosh Maurya may have cross voted in favour of NDA, sources said.
Out of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats that had gone to polls on Tuesday, 41 members had virtually secured their seats in the Upper House.
Here are the latest developments in the Rajya Sabha polls:
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP secured victory in all eight of its contested seats, whereas the Samajwadi Party won two out of three seats it contested.
The victorious BJP candidates were 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, former Agra mayor Naveen Jain, and industrialist Sanjay Seth.
From Samajwadi Party, actor-MP Jaya Bachchan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman have been elected to the Upper House. Jaya Bachchan got the most votes, with 41 members voting in her favour.
advertisementIn the Karnataka Rajya Sabha vote count, Congress won three seats with Ajay Maken, Nasser Hussain, and GC Chandrashekar securing victory, while BJP's Narayansa Bhandage won one seat. JD(S) leader D Kupendra Reddy lost, garnering only 36 votes.
Karnataka may have witnessed cross-voting by two MLAs. According to sources, BJP’s ST Somashekar and Independent MLA G Janardhana Reddy may have voted in the Congress candidate’s favour.
In Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan secured victory in the sole Rajya Sabha seat, defeating the Congress candidate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
During a press conference with the Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Abhishek Manu Singhvi congratulated the BJP candidate while confirming that nine Congress MLAs had cross-voted. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has alleged that Haryana Police has taken away 5-6 Congress MLAs to Haryana's Panchkula.
advertisementEarlier, when reports of nine Congress MLAs possibly cross-voting had emerged, the BJP was asked if it would demand a floor test in the Himachal Pradesh Assembly.
In response, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur told news agency ANI, "We will discuss the Budget tomorrow, and then we will see the situation there. But I can see that the government has lost the majority."
Out of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats that went to polls on Tuesday, 41 members had virtually secured their seats in the Upper House. JP Nadda was nominated as the party's candidate from the seat that fell vacant in Gujarat and was elected unopposed.
advertisementSimilarly, Vaishnaw was elected for a second time to the Upper House with support from the ruling Biju Janata Dal from Odisha. Even MoS Information and Broadcasting L Murugan was elected unopposed from Madhya Pradesh.
In Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi was elected unopposed and so were BJP's Chunnilal Garasiya and Madan Rathore.
Gujarat diamond merchant Govindbhai Dholakia, Jasvantsinh Parmar and OBC Morcha chief Mayank Nayak were also elected unopposed. In Bihar, JD(U) leader Sanjay Jha was also nominated to the Rajya Sabha.