19 seats from eight states go to Rajya Sabha polls today

Polls to 19 Rajya Sabha seats in eight states will be held on Friday (June 19) amid the COVID-19 crisis and allegation of horse-trading by parties.

Of the 19 seats, four are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat each, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from Manipur, Mizoram, and Meghalaya.

With over 1,000 MLAs slated to vote for these seats across states, the Election Commission has appointed a nodal officer in each state to ensure that COVID-19-related rules are followed during the polling process.

Arrangements have been made to check the body temperature of MLAs and those having high fever or other COVID-19 symptoms will be kept in a separate waiting room.

The election is going to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Related news: BJP, Congress in MP, Rajasthan set for Rajya Sabha polls for June 19

While eight Congress legislators have resigned from the Gujarat assembly since the Rajya Sabha polls were announced in February, the party has levelled allegations of poaching against the BJP in Rajasthan. Fearing further fall in numbers, the Congress has ferried its legislators in Gujarat and Rajasthan to resorts.

In Rajasthan, the Congress which has 65 MLAs needs the support of five more legislators to secure a win for its candidates Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki. The BJP, which has the strength of 103 legislators, on the other hand needs two more votes to help its candidates Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara, and Narhari Amin to win.

In Madhya Pradesh, the BJP which has the support of three legislators of the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party as well as that of four independents is likely to win two seats. It has fielded Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki against Congress’s Digvijaya Singh and Phool Singh Baraiya.

The counting of votes will be held on Friday evening itself.

The elections which were to take place on March 26 were deferred to June 19 in view of the pandemic. Of the 55 vacant Rajya Sabha seats, 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest.