Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections in three states – Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh – are underway with 15 seats up for grabs. In the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka on Tuesday, the Congress party secured three out of four seats, while the BJP got one. The new members of the Upper House are Ajay Maken, G C Chandrasekhar and Syed Naseer Hussain from the Congress, and Narayansa K Bhandage from the BJP. The fifth contender, D Kupendra Reddy from JD(S), lost the race. The elections witnessed cross-voting, as one BJP MLA, S T Somashekar, supported the Congress’s Maken, while another, A Shivaram Hebbar, did not vote. Meanwhile, in a major setback for Congress, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan has won the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh.
Earlier, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, accused the BJP of “kidnapping” five to six Congress MLAs and taking them away in a CRPF and Haryana Police convoy. He said their families are trying to reach them. He made this claim after the voting for the only Rajya Sabha seat in the state concluded, with fears of cross-voting in the Congress camp. He slammed the BJP for its hooliganism, which he said was harmful for democracy. The Rajya Sabha seat is a close contest between the Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi and the BJP’s Harsh Mahajan
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08:15 PM: Rebel Himachal MLAs Head Back To Shimla
Congress and Independent Himachal Pradesh MLAs, who had arrived in Haryana’s Panchkula from Shimla, head back to their state. Himachal LoP Jairam Thakur has claimed that BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan has won the Rajya Sabha election.
08:00 PM: Himachal Rajya Sabha elections LIVE Updates
In Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan says, “This is the victory of BJP, of Narendra Modi, of Amit Shah.” State BJP has claimed that their candidate has won the election.
07:50 PM: Big Setback For Congress In Himachal
BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan has won the single Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh, says BJP leader Jairam Thakur.
07:40 PM: Congress’ Surjewala Speaks On Karnataka RS Poll Results
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala speaks on Congress winning three out of four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka. “I laud the efforts, commitment to ideology, principles and democracy of the Congress legislators and all other supporting legislators who made this victory possible. This is a decisive victory for democracy, India and the self-respect of Kannadigas.”
07:20 PM: Himachal RS Election Has Tied
Both BJP and Congress’ candidate have received 34 votes each for the single Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal. The winning mark is 35.
07:10 PM: Karnataka Rajya Sabha Elections
After winning from Karnataka, Congress leader Dr Syed Naseer Hussain says, “This was an expected victory. We had enough votes to win all three seats. We got more votes for these three seats. This is an important victory ahead of Lok Sabha. It is a privilege for me to be in the Upper House and represent Congress party and Karnataka for the second consecutive time…”
06:55 PM: Himachal CM Accuses BJP Of Threatening Polling Officers
Amid reports of several Himachal Congress MLAs in contact with BJP, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu accuses CRPF and Haryana police of taking away 5-6 Congress MLAs.
“The manner in which the counting has begun and Opposition leaders are threatening the polling officers again and again is not right for democracy…They had halted the counting for long. I urge the Himachal BJP unit’s leaders – have patience, don’t put pressure on people…CRPF and Haryana Police convoy have taken away 5-6 MLAs. I can say that the people who have gone away are being contacted by their families, I urge them to contact their families…There is no need to worry,” Sukhu said while speaking to ANI.
06:45 PM: Voting Resumes In UP
Commission has given permission to start counting after three objections have been rejected. Of these, two objections were raised by Samajwadi Party and one objection was raised by Omprakash Rajbhar’s party.
06:30 PM: Himachal Pradesh Results Update
Recounting has been ordered for the single Himachal Pradesh seat after BJP demanded rejection of Congress legislator Sudarshan Bablu’s vote. He came from a hospital in Punjab to vote in Shimla. Both BJP and Congress’ candidate have received 34 votes each, while the wining number is 35.
06:25: Rajya Sabha counting stopped in Uttar Pradesh.
06:15 PM: 9 Himachal Cong MLAs ‘Not In Touch’ With Party
The Congress has lost contatct with 9 MLAs, who likely cross voted in BJP’s favour amid speculations of BJP demanding a ‘floor test’ for Sukhu govt to prove its majority.
06:00 PM: Congress Bags 3 RS Seats In Karnataka, BJP Gets One
Winning Candidates -
Ajay Maken(INC): 47 votes, Syed Nasir Hussain(INC): 47 votes, GC Chandrashekar(INC): 45 votes, Narayana Bhandage(BJP): 48 votes
JD(S) nominee Kupendra Reddy failed to win after getting only 35 votes. Shivram Hebbar (BJP) did not vote.
05:50 PM: BJP MLA ST Somashekhar has voted for the Congress candidate in the Rajya Sabha Election held in Karnataka , while another BJP MLA Shivaram Hebbar has not come to vote.
05:40 PM: 7 SP MLAs Cross Voted In UP
All 8 candidates of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh are likely set to win. A total of 395 legislators have cast their votes, while 7 MLAs of SP have cross-voted in BJP’s favour.
05:30 PM: 6 Himachal Cong MLAs Cross Vote For BJP
06 Congress MLAs in Himachal pradesh have voted in favour of the BJP. 3 Independent MLAs have also supported the BJP.
05:15 PM: Counting Of Votes For RS Polls Begins
05:10 PM: BJP Confident Of Winning All Seats In UP
UP Deputy CM Brajesh Pathak says, “BJP’s eight candidates are leading. The results will be out soon.” The Rajya Sabha elections took place today. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP and the Samajwadi Party have nominated eight and three candidates respectively.
04:50: UP Assembly Speaker Says This On RS polls
“All guidelines of ECI were followed during voting, results to be out by evening,” says UP Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana on RS polls
04:35 PM: SP MLA Slams Resigning Members
Samajwadi Party MLA Sangram Yadav questions the morality of those who won on the party’s symbol with the support of Dalits and backward classes. He says that they betrayed the Dalits and backward classes by talking about conscience today, when they resigned from the post of party chief whip during the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh.
04:20 PM: Himachal LoP Hints At Floor Test
When asked if the State BJP will demand a Floor Test, Himachal Pradesh LoP Jairam Thakur said, “The Budget will be tabled tomorrow. We will debate the Budget tomorrow and then assess the scenario there. But I can tell that the Government has no majority.”
04:10 PM: “Only Loyal To My Voters”, SP Chief Whip After Quitting
Manoj Kumar Pandey, who resigned as Samajwadi Party Chief Whip, says, “The people have elected me multiple times… Being in politics means facing all kinds of accusations. I have been chosen by the people, and they are my only priority.”
04:00 PM: On the question of Cross-voting in Karnataka RS polls, state’s Deputy CM DK Shivakumar said, “I don’t know about it. It was a secret ballot vote. This alliance is not working in the state. BJP had around 65 votes and they needed 45 to elect their candidate. They got 48 votes which means that BJP legislators did not vote for JD(S). BJP legislators were reluctant to vote for JD(S), so they got 48 votes out of 45.”
03:45 PM: Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, “…We had the Whip in place, but they lacked the numbers. We had no choice but to go for the voting. BJP resorted to intimidation tactics against our leaders, which we denounce in the strongest terms.”
He also said, “During the cut-motion, the opposition leader Jairam Thakur raised the issue. Jagat Negi put forward our stance when dialogue failed, but BJP’s conduct was reprehensible, leading to chaos and House adjournment.”
03:30 PM: The rebel MLAs of SP who voted for the NDA candidate 1- Rakesh Pandey (voted for NDA) 2- Rakesh Pratap Singh (voted for NDA) 3- Abhay Singh (voted for NDA) 4- Vinod Chaturvedi (voted for NDA) 5- Manoj Pandey (voted for NDA) 6- Maharaji Devi (absent) 7- Pooja Pal (voted for NDA) 8- Ashutosh Maurya (voted for NDA) Nitish Pandey.
03.13 PM: Three independent MLAs also voted for BJP. According to reports, BSP MLA Uma Shankar Singh voted for the BJP candidate. Manoj Pandey and Rakesh Pandey and Abhay Singh, Rakesh Singh, Pooja Pal, Maharani Devi are some of the SP MLAs cross-voted for BJP
02.20 PM: According to Zee News TV, the affirmative reports of cross-voting have come from both Himachal Pradesh and UP, 7 MLAs from UP, while 8-10 MLAs from Himachal Pradesh’s Congress have allegedly voted for the BJP. Sudhir Sharma, Rajeev Rana, Ravi Thakur, Davinder Kumar (Bhutto), Chaitanya Sharma, Hoshyar Singh, Krishan Lal Thakur and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal are some names who have reportedly voted for the BJP.
01:55 PM: Karnataka JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said, “Congress has been disturbing JD(S) MLAs everyday. Each day they have been saying that more than 12-13 JD(S) are ready to join Congress. To show our strength, we put forward a candidate in this election.”
01.45 PM: On speculation of cross-voting, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Sukhu said, “We have 40 MLAs. If no one is sold, then we will receive 40 out of 40 votes. (Agar koi bika nahi hoga toh humein 40/40 votes aayenge).”
01.36 PM: In response to speculations about cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections by Karnataka BJP leader ST Somashekar, Congress MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao asserts our unity remains unshaken. He added, “For the BJP, it has become a practice to use any method to win.”
01.22 PM: ST Somashekar, BJP MLA Basanagouda R Patil (Yatnal) said that sometimes such things happen. He added, “The party had given clear direction to vote for BJP-JD(S) candidates.”
01.15 PM: UP’s Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) leader Raja Bhaiya affirmed that 8candidates from BJP will win. “We had made it clear that Jansatta Dal will support BJP candidates,” he added.
01.03 PM: Voting concluded for the Rajya Sabha polls of Himachal Pradesh, a total of 68 MLAs voted.
12.40 PM: Responding to the rumours of cross-voting Himachal Pradesh Congress chief Pratibha Virbhadra Singh accused the BJP of using money power. “We will see when the results come out and face the situation. We will sail through, we have the majority,” she added. While, Himachal Pradesh minister & Congress leader Vikramaditya Singh said my conscience is clear.
12.33 PM: On rumors of cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections, BJP Chief in Karnataka Assembly, Doddanagouda G. Patil says, “It is confirmed that ST Somashekar has cross-voted. We are discussing what can be done and what action to be taken.”
12.24 PM: On Himachal Rajya Sabha elections, CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said”…All our MLAs have voted for the elections. I hope they have all voted on the ideology of the party. We can only say anything once the results are declarred. ‘BJP mein antar-aatma naam ki chiz nahi hai, waha toh paisa antar-aatma chalta hai’…”
12.14 PM: A number of cross votings were witnesses in Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh during the ongoing Rajya Sabha polls. While SBSP MLA Jagdish Narayan, part of the BJP-led NDA alliance, voted for the Samajwadi Party, several SP MLAs voted for the BJP candidate. These MLAs include Manoj Pandey, Rakesh Pratap Singh and Pallavi Patel. In Karnataka, BJP MLA S. T. Somashekhar cross-voted in favour of the Congress.
12.05 PM: Reacting to the cross-voting, Akhilesh Yadav said that the BJP manipulated and lured MLAs by hook and crook method. Yadav alleged that some MLAs were offered various incentives while some were threatened. “Not everybody has the guts to stand against the Government…pressure is put on everybody, is there anyone who doesn’t know that BJP would go to any extent to win. BJP was dishonest during Chandigarh elections also… When it comes to UP, BJP did everything to get votes and those who left, might not have had the guts to stand against the govt. Action will be taken because our party leaders want such people to be kept away from the party,” said Yadav.
12.00 Noon: On Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections, Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad said, “There will be no cross-voting. Congress candidates will get more votes than required. If people from some other party want to vote for us, then we won’t say no to it.”
11.40 AM: Reacting to the BJP-JDS fielding additional candidate, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said, “They (BJP) have also fielded candidate to win the elections, but for the 5th candidate they required 45 votes, do they have 45 votes? How will they win without numbers? Though they know that they don’t have numbers they fielded Kupendra Reddy and they tried to poach our MLAs, that’s why an FIR has been lodged against him. I’m sure all our 3 candidates are going to win.”
Resort Politics In Karnataka
Ruling Congress in Karnataka has relocated its MLAs to a hotel to safeguard them from external pressures. On Monday, the Congress shifted all its MLAs to a hotel, marking the beginning of the state’s trademark resort politics. All parties have issued whips to their MLAs ahead of today’s election. On Monday, Janardhan Reddy, Karnataka MLA and chief of Kalyana Karnataka Pragati Paksha, met CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar after he announced his support for Congress in the Rajya Sabha election. This further solidifies Congress’s winning chances.
While the Congress had a smooth path in securing four of Karnataka’s three seats due to its numerical strength, the BJP-Janata Dal Secular alliance complicated matters by nominating a second candidate. If there were four candidates, each would need 45 votes to win; however, in the case of additional candidates, preference votes would come into play. The Congress with 135 MLAs has the exact number to elect its three candidates, Ajay Maken, Nasir Hussain and G C Chandrashekhar.
The entry of multi-millionaire real estate baron, D Kupendra Reddy, a Janata Dal (Secular)-BJP candidate has turned the elections to the fourth seat into a keen contest. Reddy, who declared Rs 1,200 crore assets in his election affidavit, has been fielded by the JD(S)-BJP combine. Reddy is confident that he will get the votes to win the election. Earlier, the Congress has complained that MLAs are being blackmailed to vote for Kupendra Reddy. A Congress delegation filed a complaint with the Bengaluru Police Commissioner. The BJP has 66 MLAs, which means it can easily get its main candidate, party worker Narayansa Bhandage, elected. Combined with the 19 JD(S) MLAs, the BJP-JDs second candidate Kupendra Reddy will need to get support of three Independents and get at least three Congress MLAs to cross-vote if he wants to win.
Khela In Uttar Pradesh
In Uttar Pradesh, the cross-voting fear has gripped the Samajwadi Party but the leading opposition party has maintained that all is well. According to Zee News TV sources, 8 to 10 of the Samajwadi Party MLAs may vote for the BJP alliance. The ruling BJP and SP had sufficient support to secure the unopposed election of seven and three members to the Rajya Sabha, respectively. However, the BJP escalated the competition by nominating Sanjay Seth, a former SP member and industrialist, as its eighth candidate. To secure an election, a candidate from the state requires approximately 37 first-preference votes.
Ahead of voting, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav hoped that all three candidates of his party will win despite the BJP’s tactics. “BJP will do everything possible for victory. Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP,” said Yadav expressing apprehension of the cross-voting.
The SP has put forward Jaya Bachchan, an actor-MP, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. This decision has reportedly caused a rift with ally Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pallavi Patel, who expressed disagreement with the choice of Bachchan and Ranjan and stated she would abstain from voting.
Congress’s Whip To MLAs In Himachal
In Himachal Pradesh, the actions taken were not as extreme as in Karnataka. The party has warned its MLAs about the election of its lone Rajya Sabha seat. The focal point of the Congress’ contest in the state is its senior leader, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, pitted against the BJP’s core committee member, Harsh Mahajan. The Congress enjoys a clear majority with 40 MLAs, while the BJP has 25 members. Three MLAs, including two BJP rebels, identify as independents. Sources indicate that the BJP is currently seeking to woo dissatisfied Congress MLAs.
41 MPs Elected Unopposed
Elections were due for 56 Rajya Sabha seats but since 41 leaders were elected unopposed including former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Ashok Chavan, Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan, the elections are being held for 15 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.