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Rajya Sabha election updates: Counting of votes has begun in Jharkhand after the Election Commission gave clearance. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi emerged victorious from West Bengal, while TMC bagged four seats from state. BJP’s Saroj Pandey has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Chhattisgarh. With two jailed MLAs being barred from casting their votes in Uttar Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday, the battle for 10 Uttar Pradesh seats is set to come down to the wire as BJP and BSP will have to rely on cross-voting. SP has said that BJP MLAs will cross-vote in their favour because a lot of leaders of the saffron party are annoyed with the party. The voting for the remaining 25 seats in 6 states has begun. The stage is set for Rajya Sabha polls on Friday for the remaining 25 seats in six states including Uttar Pradesh where BJP is virtually assured of 8 of the 10 seats amid suspense whether it can snatch an extra seat in the light of the newfound bonhomie between former arch rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP. For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed on 15 March. Seven Union ministers, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar, were among them. [caption id=“attachment_4277349” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] Besides Uttar Pradesh, where Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is in the fray and who is certain to win, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana will also feature in the polls. Counting of ballots will be taken up at 5 pm, an hour after the end of voting. A bypoll will also be held for one seat in Kerala where MP Veerendra Kumar, the Left-backed candidate of Sharad Yadav faction of the JD(U), is pitted against Babu Prasad of the Congress. The four-MLA strong Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP), after being placated by BJP chief Amit Shah, and the Apna Dal (Sonelal) with nine MLAs have decided to vote for BJP nominees. “We are standing with the BJP. We had held a meeting of our MLAs and it was decided that we will strongly support the BJP,” national president of Apna Dal(S) Ashish Patel said in Lucknow. In all there are 11 candidates in the fray for the 10 seats. The BJP and its allies have 324 MLAs in the 403-member Assembly after the death of its Noorpur MLA in a road accident recently. To secure a win, a candidate needs 37 first preference votes. Arithmetically, the BJP can easily win eight of the 10 seats and will be left with 28 surplus votes. “There will be contest on the ninth seat,” a senior Uttar Pradesh BJP leader said, exuding confidence that the saffron party would bag nine seats. The Samajwadi Partyand the BSP also appeared sure of win one seat each. The Samajwadi Party has fielded Jaya Bachchan and the BSP Bhimrao Ambedkar. With 19 MLAs, the BSP is short of 18 first preference votes and with Naresh Agarwal’s son Nitin, who is still an Samajwadi Party MLA, likely to cross-vote for the BJP, the task will become difficult for the candidate of the Mayawati-led party. BSP insiders said to be doubly sure of victory, Mayawati has sought a list of Samajwadi Party’s loyal MLAs who will vote for her party candidate. She is also banking on some independent MLAs, who, though, are yet to reveal their cards, they said. Riding on the new bonhomie with the Samajwadi Party, Mayawati is banking on the 10 surplus votes of Akhilesh Yadav’s party, besides seven votes of the Congress and one of RLD to reach the magic figure of 37 votes. However, Nitin Agarwal can queer the BSPs pitch if he votes for the BJP. Naresh Agarwal, who recently quit the Samajwadi Party and joined the BJP, has said his son would vote for the saffron party in the Rajya Sabha polls. The country’s most populous state sends 31 MPs to the 245-member Rajya Sabha, and the BJP, which won a massive victory in the 2017 Assembly elections, is yet to get a lion’s share of these. Presently, the BJP has 58 Rajya Sabha MPs. Besides Jaitley, the others in the fray are Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, Harnath Singh Yadav, GVL Narasimha Rao and Anil Kumar Agarwal. Altogether, six candidates, including Congress nominee Abhisek Manu Singhvi, are in the fray for the five Rajya Sabha seats from West Bengal. The state’s ruling TMC has decided to back the eminent lawyer. Five candidates are in the electoral arena in Karnataka for four seats. The state’s ruling Congress has fielded three nominees, while there are one each of the BJP and JD(S). Elections will also be held for two seats in Jharkhand where three candidates are in the fray, including two of the state’s ruling BJP and one of the Congress. One candidate each of the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress will cross swords for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Chhattisgarh. Four candidates will try their luck from Telangana where polling will be held for three seats. With inputs from agencies
Rajya Sabha Election updates: Counting begins in Jharkhand, JVM-P suspends Prakash Ram for 'cross-voting'
BJP, which can get eight candidates elected in Rajya Sabha based on its strength in the Assembly, has raised the stakes by fielding a ninth candidate.
 "Rajya Sabha Election updates: Counting begins in Jharkhand, JVM-P suspends Prakash Ram for 'cross-voting'")
Karnataka: Congress’ Naseer Hussain nominated to Rajya Sabha
It' an important responsibility. We'll take up debates & discussions very seriously. We'll live up to expectation of national & state leadership. We'll also live up to the expectations of people of state: Naseer Hussain, Congress after winning #RajyasSabhaElection from Karnataka pic.twitter.com/OwL4sioJzc
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Karnataka: BJP’s Rajeev Chandrashekhar wins, says happy to have received maximum votes
The BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar expressed happiness after emerging victorious in Karnataka. “It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka and serve my city, Bengaluru,” he said.
I am very happy to have received the maximum number of votes. Happy with the trust shown in me. It is an honor for me to serve Karnataka & serve my city Bengaluru: Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP after winning #RajyaSabhaElections from Karnataka pic.twitter.com/cDPOTsWHj5
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Counting of votes begins in Jharkhand
The Election Commission has rejected the complaint against Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram. It was alleged that he did not show his ballot paper to the party’s authorised representative after casting vote.
Mamata Banerjee flashes victory sign
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shows victory sign following #rajyasabhaelections results pic.twitter.com/yqeRgquALa
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Trinamool wins four seats, Congress one in West Bengal
The Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and the Congress one in the Rajya Sabha polls from West Bengal. All four Trinamool candidates — sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen — emerged victorious in the vote count.
Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, supported by the Trinamool, also won.
CPM candidate Rabin Deb, backed by the Left Front, lost.
IANS
MP Veerendra Kumar elected to Rajya Sabha from Kerala
MP Veerendra Kumar, the Kerala president of the Janata Dal (U) Sharad Yadav faction, was today elected to the Rajya Sabha from Kerala.
Kumar, who was supported by ruling CPI(M)-led LDF, polled 89 votes, while B Babu Prasad the opposition UDF candidate got 40 votes in the election held to one seat from the state, official sources said.
The election was held after the seat fell vacant when Kumar resigned from the Upper House of Parliament as a mark of protest against JD(U) leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining hands with BJP-led NDA.
– PTI
Counting of votes begins in Uttar Pradesh after clearance from Election Commission
The counting of votes in Uttar Pradesh has begun. ACEO Ramesh Rai has said that the CCTV footage has been examined and nothing objectionable was found, reported CNN-News18.
West Bengal: TMC’s Subhasish Chakraborty wins, Congress Abhishek Manu Singhvi nominated to RS
“It is humbling and uplifting. It is a result of cooperation between different groups and MLAs,” Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who was backed by the Trinamool Congress in the election, told ANI after winning a seat_._
On his win, TMC’s Subhasish Chakraborty said that he does believe in democracy. “My priority will be to fight against corruption,” ANI quoted him as saying.
West Bengal: TMC’s Abir Ranjan Biswas nominated to Rajya Sabha
After winning the Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal, TMC’s Abir Ranjan Biswas said that he was in “the seventh heaven of delight”.
I am at the seventh heaven of delight. This is the brain child of CM Mamata didi. I am very hopeful that I will live up to her expectations: Abir Ranjan Biswas, TMC after winning the Rajya Sabha seat. #RajyaSabhaElections #WestBengal pic.twitter.com/ZEhbYQyFQr
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Karnataka: Congress reacts to JDS’ complaint to EC
The counting of votes has been kept on hold in Karnataka after JDS’ complaint over a disrepency. “JDS has boycotted the voting now. So, that will also enhance our chances of victory” ANI quoted Congress leader G Parameshwara as saying.
Jharkhand: JVM-P suspends legislator for cross-voting
The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatantrik (JVM-P) has suspended its legislator Prakash Ram for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls.
“We have suspended Prakash Ram. We have written to the Election Commission to cancel his vote as he voted against the party line,” Babulal Marandi, President of JVM-P, told reporters.
Prakash Ram did not show his vote to the party agent while casting his vote.
IANS
BJP wishes Saroj Pandey on nomination to Rajya Sabha
.@BJP4India की राष्ट्रीय महासचिव सुश्री @SarojPandeyBJP जी को राज्यसभा सदस्य बनने पर हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं। pic.twitter.com/CGi9HB7UPl
— BJP Chhattisgarh (@BJP4CGState) March 23, 2018
Counting of votes on hold in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh
Due to some objections in ballot papers, Election Commission has not given permission to begin the counting of votes for Rajya Sabha election. Counting will begin only after clearance from poll panel, reports ANI.
According to News18, counting has been put on hold in Karnataka due to the complaint made by JDS.
Jharkhand: Congress appeals EC to cancel MLA Prakash Ram’s vote
According to The Indian Express, the Congress has written to the Election Commission claiming that Jharkhand Vikas Morcha MLA Prakash Ram violated the code of conduct. In a memorandum sen to the poll panel, the Congress claimed Ram “did not show ballot paper and concealed marked column” which violates the provisions of Rule 39AA of Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.
Chhattisgarh: Congress MLA accused of disclosing vote
Controversy erupted during the Rajya Sabha polls after a Congress MLA was accused of disclosing her vote in violation of election norms. BJP candidate Saroj Pandey’s voting agent alleged that Congress MLA Anila Bhediya violated the rules by disclosing her vote cast in a secret ballot.
Bhediya, however, denied the allegation and accused the BJP polling agent of peeping in when she was casting her vote. “I have used my vote as per rules. I have not disclosed my vote. The allegations are baseless,” she said.
BJP’s Saroj Pandey is contesting against Lekhram Sahu of the Congress for the Chhattisgarh Rajya Sabha seat.
IANS
Uttar Pradesh: Opposition faces challenge to ensure victory of its second candidate
With BSP MLA Anil Singh believed to have cross-voted and two others in jail being denied permission to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls, the Opposition faced a challenge of numbers to ensure victory for their second candidate.
The Unnao MLA’s vote could be crucial as it gives the BJP the edge in getting a ninth Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh.
The Allahabad High Court has denied permission to BSP’s Mukhtar Ansari, currently lodged in Banda jail, to vote in the Rajya Sabha elections. And a court in Firozabad has rejected a petition by SP MLA Hariom Yadav, who is in Firozabad jail.
The Opposition is now banking heavily on the two votes of Independents — Raghuraj Pratap Singh alias Raja Bhaiya and his close associate and MLA Vinod Saroj.
PTI
Polling almost over in Uttar Pradesh
Former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar is BSP’s nominee for Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh. Samajwadi Party has transferred 10 votes to BSP, Congress has given all 7; BSP has got its 17 votes along with RLD’s one vote.
#RajyaSabhaElections -- Polling almost over, in the end, SP has transferred 10 votes to BSP, Congress has transferred all 7, BSP gets its 17 and RLD's 1. #RSPolls pic.twitter.com/Ce4LhoPArG
— News18 (@CNNnews18) March 23, 2018
JDS’ HD Kumaraswamy says two Congress MLAs cross-voted in RS polls, wants Rajya Sabha polls canceled
“Two senior Congress leaders cross-voted in the first ballot paper. Returning officer allowed them to vote again in fresh ballot paper. Illegal voting is going on. I have requested the Election Commission observer to counter-mandate the process,” ANI quoted JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy as saying.
BJP confident of clinching nine seats in Uttar Pradesh
Speaking to ANI, BJP leader Nitin Agarwal said that all the nine candidates of the saffron party are sure to win. “All the nine candidates of BJP will win. Samajwadi Party insulted their workers and people will answer them for choosing a candidate (Jaya Bachchan) that entertains the society rather than one who serves the society,” he said.
BJP candidate Rajeev Chandrashekhar will get 50 votes: Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa
“Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will get at least 50 votes. He will win with a majority. I congratulate all MLAs voting for him,” News18 quoted Karnatka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa as saying.
Counting of votes to take place at 5 pm in Uttar Pradesh
Voting is underway to elect 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh. Voting for the crucial polls began at 9 am, at the Tilak hall in the Vidhan Sabha building. It will conclude at 4 pm, after which counting will begin at 5 pm.
Voting underway in Kerala’s legislative Assembly
Voting underway at #Kerala Legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram for one #RajyaSabha seat from the state pic.twitter.com/eMVXwQLJ5i
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Mayawati ropes in former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar as Rajya Sabha poll candidate; BSP shifts focus to Jatavs from Muslims
Former MLA Bhimrao Ambedkar, a Dalit from Etawah , is the BSP’s nominee for Rajya Sabha elections for the 10 seats falling vacant from Uttar Pradesh. It came as a surprise as Mayawati has for the first time, since she took reins of the party, chosen not to be a Member of Parliament or state legislature.
Ambedkar belongs to Jatav sub-caste which is the traditional BSP support base. The selection of another Jatav means the party is focused on its core support base. If Ambedkar gets elected to the Rajya Sabha, the BSP will have five members in Upper House and four of them would be Jatavs, besides Misra, a Brahmin. This fits into the larger strategy emerging among regional parties to hold onto their caste-based core support bases and then come together to form an alliance to counter the BJP.
The choice of Ambedkar also shows the BSP is no more interested in wooing Muslims as it has chosen not to re-nominate sitting MP Munquad Ali, the second best-known Muslim leader of the party after Naseemuddin Siddiqui who has already joined the Congress. Ali not being re-nominated for the third term and selection of a little-known leader also fits into the pattern that is behind all the important appointments in BSP by Mayawati. Besides Mayawati and Satish Chandra Misra, no other leader has been sent to Rajya Sabha for more than two terms. She also keeps changing the people on senior posts of the party, which is seen by many as an attempt to keep the stature of all the leaders in check.
SP candidate Jaya Bachchan could be wealthiest in Rajya Sabha
According to _ News18, t_he Samajwadi Party candidate for Rajya Sabha, Jaya Bachchan, has declared assets worth Rs 1,000 crore, which could make her the richest candidate in the Upper House.
Tough battle in Uttar Pradesh as BJP, SP lock horns
The fight for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is expected to go down to the wire with the BJP trying to avenge their Gorkahpur bypoll loss against the BSP and Samajwadi Party who joined hands and wrested the saffron bastion from under BJP’s nose.
Both Finance Minister and BJP national spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao are expected to win. According to NDTV, there are 11 candidates for 10 seats. the BJP has over 300 lawmakers to ensure it clinchs eight seats. However, the saffron party out to avenge its bypoll losses has made it a fight to get the ninth seat by supporting an independent candidate. It has 28 extra votes to aim for a ninth seat, and needs nine more to win. 37 votes are needed for each seat.
Four Rajya Sabha seats up for grabs in Karnataka
Before Karnataka heads for Assembly Election in teh next two months, the state will see four Rajya Sabha seats heading to polls. A candidate requires the vote of 46 MLAs in the house to get elected. With 124 MLAs, the ruling Congress party will elect 2 MPs and have 32 balance votes left, reported News18.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (44) is two votes short of the required number but can pull off at least one win with the help of the JD(S) (39). The BJP, JD(S), BSRC, KJP and KMP have 90 MLAs, which is still two votes short of what is required to elect 2 MPs. However, the NDA may be able to pull off the second seat with the help of independents.
Voted for BJP, says BSP MLA Anil Singh
Speaking to ANI, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Anil Singh said that he voted for the BJP. “I have voted for BJP, I don’t know about the rest,” he said.
Voting underway in various states for Rajya Sabha election
#Visuals from Telangana assembly ahead of voting for three #RajyaSabha seats from the state pic.twitter.com/Uh3atyBHil
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Voting underway at #Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly in Raipur for one #RajyaSabha seat from the state pic.twitter.com/zOPhUvXZBP
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Voting underway at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru for four #RajyaSabha seats from #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/dwKsAPwwDc
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
BJP will win all nine RS seats: Keshav Prasad Maurya
BJP will win all the nine Rajya Sabha seats where we have fielded our candidates. Nine more BJP candidates will make entry to #RajyaSabha from #UttarPradesh this time: Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya pic.twitter.com/7w4IWoWFRW
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018
BJP MLAs will cross-vote in our favour: SP
There will be no cross-voting, but yes BJP MLAs will cross-vote in our favour: Ram Gopal Yadav, SP #RajyaSabhaElections pic.twitter.com/ArFOIH26XE
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018
Visuals of RS election in Karnataka
Bengaluru: CM Siddaramaiah & Congress MLAs met at Vidhan Soudha. (Earlier Visuals) #RajyaSabhaElections #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/upy3rHacjZ
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
MLAs in Kolkata cast their votes
Kolkata: MLAs queue up at the state assembly to cast their votes for #RajyaSabhaElections, 5 seats are being contested from West Bengal. pic.twitter.com/ODHVpYYHPW
— ANI (@ANI) March 23, 2018
Yogi Adityanath meets BJP MLAs
Lucknow: Visuals from Uttar Pradesh Assembly; CM Yogi Adityanath meets party MLAs, Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma also present. #RajyaSabhaElections pic.twitter.com/DwSfe53Aqj
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018
Telangana BJP to abstain from voting in Rajya Sabha polls
BJP on Thursday said it would stay away from Rajya Sabha polls being held on Friday to fill three vacancies from Telangana.
A decision to the effect was taken as per the directives of the party’s central leadership, state BJP president K Laxman said in a statement.
Election would be held to fill three vacancies and four candidates, three belonging to TRS and one Congress nominee, are in the fray.
**Click here to read the full _PTI_ report.**Some of BJP’s MLAs may end up siding with the Opposition: SP
SP candidate Jaya Bachchan Ji & BSP candidate, (Bhim Rao Ambedkar) whom we are supporting, will win the #RajyaSabha elections. Considering BJP's condition I'd say that its own MLAs are annoyed & some of them may even end up siding with the opposition: Rajendra Chaudhary, SP pic.twitter.com/UINHNN9NIL
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) March 23, 2018
Congress issues whip to all its Rajya Sabha MPs
The Congress on Thursday night issued a three-line whip to all its MPs in the Rajya Sabha asking them to be present in the House at 11 am on Friday in full strength and support the party’s stand.
According to sources, the whip has been issued by the opposition party which seeks to corner the government on some burning issues. — PTI
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