Rajya Sabha Polls 2024: UP, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh Brace For Close Contest

The polls for 15 Rajya Sabha seats spread across three states will take place on Tuesday.

So far, 41 leaders out of 56 seats have been elected unopposed. Notable figures among them include former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Ashok Chavan, and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan. The remaining 15 seats are up for grabs in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Himachal Pradesh.

Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh will witness a high-pitched electoral battle. The BJP has nominated eight candidates, while the opposition Samajwadi Party has put forward three contenders for the ten seats.

Although the ruling BJP and the primary opposition SP have sufficient numbers to secure seven and three seats respectively without opposition, the inclusion of Sanjay Seth as the eighth BJP candidate has intensified the competition for one of the seats.

With 252 MLAs and 108 MLAs respectively, the BJP and SP are the largest parties in the 403-member state assembly. The Congress, in alliance with the SP, holds two seats, while BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) holds 13, NISHAD Party six, RLD nine, SBSP six, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik two, and the BSP one. Currently, four seats remain vacant.

Among the seven other BJP candidates are former Union minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, Amarpal Maurya (general secretary of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit), Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain.

The SP has nominated actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman.

Karnataka

The ruling Congress, holding 135 seats in the 224-member Assembly, is anticipated to maintain its hold on the three seats with the backing of Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and two Independents.

With 66 and 19 members respectively, the BJP and JDS are poised to jointly secure one seat.

Each candidate must secure 45 votes to win if only four candidates are competing. However, in the event of more candidates, preference votes come into play.

Himachal Pradesh

The Congress has a majority with 40 out of 68 MLAs, further bolstered by the support of three independent MLAs. Despite trailing significantly in numbers, with only 25 MLAs, the BJP has opted for a competitive stance by nominating Mahajan against Singhvi.

However, dissent brews within the Congress-led government under Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, with certain MLAs expressing discontent, potentially endangering the party's prospects in the Rajya Sabha elections.

Former minister Sudhir Sharma, representing Dharamshala, and Rajinder Rana from Sujanpur, who had aspirations for cabinet positions, have voiced their dissatisfaction with Sukhu ahead of the elections. This discontent comes amidst the BJP's decision to field Harsh Mahajan against the Congress' Abhishek Manu Singhvi.