Polling is underway for the Rajya Sabha Elections to elect 15 members from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
Of these three states, the Congress party rules in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, while the BJP rules in Uttar Pradesh.
Due to the fear of cross-voting during the poll, the Samajwadi Party and the Congress party are taking all precautionary measures to prevent it.
Uttar Pradesh:
A total of 11 candidates are competing, with the BJP and the SP having the capacity to send seven and three members respectively. However, the entry of BJP's Sanjay Seth as the eighth candidate has sparked a competitive scenario. Initially, the BJP had announced only seven names, including former Union Minister R.P.N. Singh, former Agra mayor Navin Jain, BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former Mathura MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, former UP MLAs Sangeeta Balwant and Sadhna Singh, along with state BJP General Secretary Amar Pal Maurya. On the other hand, the SP has nominated three candidates, including Jaya Bachchan, a four-time RS MP seeking her fifth term, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Alok Ranjan, and Ramji Lal Suman.
Karnataka:
The Congress has nominated party Treasurer Ajay Maken, along with Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain and G.C. Chandrashekhar. Senior BJP figure Narayansa Bandage and Kupendra Reddy, representing the JD-S, have submitted their nominations as National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidates for the Rajya Sabha. The inclusion of Kupendra Reddy as the fifth candidate has sparked fierce competition between the ruling Congress and the BJP.
Himachal Pradesh:
Himachal Pradesh is set to elect a sole member for the Rajya Sabha. Both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP in the state have put forth their candidates for this single seat. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi has submitted his nomination for the Rajya Sabha elections from Himachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, the BJP has nominated Harsh Mahajan, a close associate of six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, to contest against Singhvi.
While elections were initially announced for 56 Rajya Sabha seats, 41 candidates were elected unopposed. As a result, polling is now taking place for the remaining 15 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.
