Explained: Why Rajya Sabha elections have become a nail-biting contest

The elections to the Rajya Sabha will be held on Friday to fill 57 seats across 15 states falling vacant because of the retirement of members between June and August. So far, 41 candidates from different parties in 11 states – Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Punjab – have won unopposed. But polls in India without drama are an impossibility. With one day to go, there’s a lot of action that the remaining four states – Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Haryana – are bring to the table. Of course, resorts have a big role to play. We take a look at what’s unfolding on the eve of the elections and what can we expect. Maharashtra In Maharashtra, there are six seats that will be vacant. The number of candidates in the fray are seven. The ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition is up against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). For more than two decades, the state has not witnessed a contest for the RS election, where candidates generally win unopposed. The Congress has fielded the 34-year-old Imran Pratapgarhi, a close aide of Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra to the House of Elders seat, which caused the senior leadership a lot of heartburn. The Shiv Sena’s picks are Kolhapur party president Sanjay Pawar and firebrand MP Sanjay Raut while the Nationalist Congress Party has recommended former civil aviation minister Parful Patel’s name. The BJP has put forward the names of former minister Dr Anil Bonde, Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and Kolphapur leader Dhananjay Mahadik. The tussle for the sixth seat is between Pawar and BJP’s Dhananjay Mahadik. Of the 288 seats in the Maharashtra State assembly, the BJP has 106, Shiv Sena has 55, the Congress has 44 and the NCP 53. Independent and smaller parties have 29. A candidate needs 42 votes to win. The Sena, Congress, and NCP can easily get one member of Parliament (MP) elected; the BJP can get two. However, the election has turned into a heated contest only because both the BJP and the Shiv Sena decided to field an extra candidate, making polling unavoidable. “Mahadik has been fielded to give tough competition to Shiv Sena candidate Sanjay Pawar,” a BJP source told The Indian Express last week. Amid all the tension, Shiv Sena moved its MLAs to a five-star hotel in south Mumbai. The Congress and NCP leaders are holed up another hotel in suburban Mumbai and the BJP has also reportedly called its MLAs to the city.

Resort politics begins in Maharashtra ahead of Rajya Sabha election,ShivSena MLAs been shifted in a resort at Malad @ANI pic.twitter.com/lTUIrdK8IG

— Pramod Kala Ramkumar Sharma (@ipramodsharma) June 6, 2022

The election is held through an open ballot but yet there’s fear of cross-voting. Karnataka There are four seats and six candidates in the fray. Both Congress and the BJP have fielded an extra candidate each, making the contest for the fourth seat crucial. The Congress’ candidates are former Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and minority leader Mansoor Ali Khan. The BJP’s picks are Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor Jaggesh, and Karnataka MLC Lahar Singh Siroya. Real estate baron D Kupendra Reddy is the Janatal Dal (Secular) candidate. In the 224-seat Karnataka assembly, the Congress has 70 MLAs, the BJP has 121 seats and the JD(S) has 32. The ruling BJP can easily win two seats of the four and the Congress can win one. With 32 MLAs, the JD(S) does not have the numbers to win a Rajya Sabha seat – each candidate needs 45 votes to win. But it can help other parties get that one seat. While both the JD(S) and Congress have vowed to defeat the BJP, they are yet to come to an agreement, as the two parties have fielded a candidate each for the same seat. On Thursday, 20 JD(S) MLAs checked in into a hotel in Bengaluru, while another 12 are expected to join them later, reports NDTV. “If Congress really wants to defeat the BJP, we have already made an offer of transferring second preferential votes to each other,” JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy had said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Congress leader Siddaramaiah asked the JD(S) to drop its candidate and back its MLAs. Rajasthan There are four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan and five candidates are in the running. Congress has picked three candidates – party general-secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, former Union minister Mukul Wasnik, and Uttar Pradesh leader Pramod Tiwari. The BJP has fielded one candidate, former MLA Ghanshyam Tiwari. In a surprise move, it also decided to back Independent candidate and media baron Subhash Chandra. [caption id=“attachment_10776541” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  The BJP has decided to back Independent candidate and media baron Subhash Chandra. Image Courtesy: Twitter[/caption] Of the 200 seats in the Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 108 and the BJP has 71. The former can win two seats and the latter one. The fifth seat is where the fight begins. The Congress would need 15 more votes for all three of its candidates to make it to the Rajya Sabha. The BJP will need 11 more votes for its two candidates in Friday’s election. Each candidate requires 41 votes to win. On Tuesday, Chandra said that four Congress MLAs were already supporting him and “eight will cross-vote” in his favour. Fearing poaching, Congress MLAs and independents supporting the party have all been moved to a resort in Rajasthan’s Udaipur. Haryana For two seats in the Upper House, there are three names in the race. The Congress’ candidate is Ajay Maken and in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, the Congress has 31 MLAs. That’s the number of votes need for this win. However, the party fears cross-voting and has moved its legislators to a hotel in Raipur. According to a report in The Economic Times, three MLAs are keeping their options open. Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi and Kiran Chaudhary did not go to the resort. With 40 MLAs, the BJP has fielded former Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar and is putting its weight behind News X owner Kartikeya Sharma. The party is reliant on its ally Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) to also back Sharma. INLD’s Abhay Chautala and Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda have said they will support him. Apart from that, there are seven Independents in the Assembly. BJP and JJP MLAs have been shifted to a resort in Chandigarh to “discuss strategy”. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.