New Delhi Polling is scheduled for Friday for 19 seats of the Rajya Sabha spread across eight states across the country. Of these, there will be close competition between BJP and Congress in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
It is noteworthy that due to corona virus infection, elections were left on 18 seats. Later, the Election Commission announced elections for four seats in Karnataka, one each in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Of the 19 seats for which polling is held, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya.
The demand for a no-confidence motion of the opposition Congress against the N Biren Singh government following the resignation of nine MLAs of four ruling coalitions in Manipur has made the election more interesting. Here BJP has fielded Lesimba Sanajaoba while Congress candidate T. Mangi Babu.
At the same time, both the ruling BJP and Congress in Gujarat do not have enough MLAs to win their candidates on their own. Here BJP has fielded three candidates Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin for four seats. While the Congress has given tickets to two people, Shakti Singh Gohil and Bharat Singh Solanki.
Similarly, in Madhya Pradesh, Congress and BJP have fielded two candidates each. Among the BJP candidates are former Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki. The Congress has fielded Digvijay Singh and Dalit leader Phool Singh Baraiya.
In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP hid him in separate hotels amid allegations of breaking the MLA. In the three-seat battle, two of the four candidates are from Congress and two from BJP. The Congress has nominated KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi and the BJP has nominated Rajendra Gehlot and Omkar Singh Lekhawat.
Four members will be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. The ruling YSR Congress is expected to win all the four seats due to the presence of sufficient numbers in the assembly. For the first time after the bifurcation of the state in 2014, elections are being held for Rajya Sabha seats here.
