Amid the tensions over the cross-voting between the Samajwadi Party and Congress, 15 Rajya Sabha seats are up for election today across three states – Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
So far, 41 leaders have already been elected for the 56 seats. The elected leaders include BJP Chief JP Nadda, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and Union Ministers L Murugan and Ashwini Vaishnaw. Elections are due in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for 15 seats.
BJP has fielded eight candidates in UP for 10 seats while, the Samajwadi Party has fielded three.
BJP is expecting surplus votes from Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has recently joined the NDA alliance. The BJP has also claimed that at least 10 MLAs of the Akhilesh Yadav led Samajwadi Party are in its contact.
However, the Samajwadi Party has bluntly denied the claim.
The eight candidates fielded by BJP include former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, former minister Sangeeta Balwant, Union Minister RPN Singh, senior state leaded Amarpal Maurya, among others.
The candidates fielded by the Samajwadi Party include retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, MP Jaya Bachchan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman.
In Karnataka, the Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has denied the cross-voting claim. The ruling Congress in the state has even shifted its MLAs to a private hotel to prevent any influences.
Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh where Congress has 40 MLAs against BJP’s 25, the RS election is seen to be a prestigious battle for the state Chief Minister Sukhvindef Singh Sukhu.
