Rajya Sabha polls: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan to see high-stake battles

NEW DELHI: The Rajya Sabha election is scheduled on 19 June, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) expected to inch closer to a majority. The election for the Upper House of the Parliament is crucial as the outcome would impact the upcoming monsoon session, helping the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) push its legislative agendas.

On Thursday, 24 Rajya Sabha seats will be contested for, of which four from Karnataka have already been taken unopposed. However, four seats in Gujarat, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and two in Jharkhand are expected to give cliffhanger outcomes.

Polling and counting for the election will take place on Friday.

The NDA is likely to do well in nearly half of the seats. Congress and other opposition parties could gain from Jharkhand and Rajasthan. In Karnataka, two of BJP candidates and one each of Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), which included its chief HD Devegowda, were elected.

The run up to the Rajya Sabha election has been politically charged, with national rivals BJP and Congress alleging horse trading and resort politics in two key states--Rajasthan and Gujarat. In Gujarat, Congress shifted some MLAs to a resort due to repeated exits from the party, while in Rajasthan both parties shifted their lawmakers to resorts to guard them for alleged poaching attempts.

Congress is incumbent in Rajasthan and is in a safe position to win two out of three Rajya Sabha seats, while BJP is in power in Gujarat and needs support of two more legislators to win three out of four seats. In Jharkhand, all three parties--BJP, Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)--have fielded one candidate each for two seats and in Madhya Pradesh, both Congress and BJP have fielded two candidates each for three seats.

Currently, NDA has over 90 members in the Upper House, which includes 75 BJP MPs and is dependent on friendly parties to get issue-based support. Nearing a majority would enable NDA easily pass key policy legislations in the Parliament.