Rajya Sabha Election 2024 : Polls for UP, Himachal, Karnataka 15 seats today

Elections began for 15 Rajya Sabha seats across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh today. The voting process will commence at 9 am in the upper house, with vote counting scheduled to start at 5 pm.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has nominated eight candidates, while the Samajwadi Party has put forward three for the ten Rajya Sabha seats. Although the BJP has sufficient numbers to send seven members unopposed, the candidacy of Sanjay Seth has increased the likelihood of a competitive contest for one seat.

For a candidate to secure a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh, he or she requires approximately 37 first-preference votes.

In Karnataka, the Congress has relocated all its MLAs to a hotel ahead of the biennial election to fill four vacancies. Five candidates are competing, including Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, and GC Chandrasekhar from Congress, Narayansa Bandage from BJP, and Kupendra Reddy from JD(S). With whips issued by all parties to their MLAs, concerns about cross-voting have arisen.

Meanwhile, in Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has issued a whip instructing all its MLAs to vote for the party’s candidate Abhishek Manu Singhvi. This move has been criticized by the BJP, which claims that legislators have the right to vote according to their preferences.

Of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs today, 41 members have effectively secured their seats in the upper house.