8 For BJP, 4 For Congress in Rajya Sabha Elections Results

New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Elections were held on four seats each from Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from the northeastern states of Meghalaya and Manipur and Mizoram. The voting began at 9 am. The toughest fight was over one seat in Gujarat, one in Rajasthan, and one in Madhya Pradesh.

The key candidates in today’s election included Shakti Singh Gohil and Bharat Singh Solanki from Gujarat, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh and KC Venugopal from Rajasthan.

Before Friday’s voting, the NDA had 91 of the 245 Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress-led UPA had 61. The other opposition and the non-aligned parties together had 68 seats. 

Gujarat Rajya Sabha Election
  • Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara, and Narhari Amin won from the BJP.
  • Congress’s Shaktisinh Gohil won the election in Gujarat. 
  • The Congress party had also fielded Bharatsinh Solanki for a second seat but he lost. 
Rajasthan Rajya Sabha Election
  • KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi won for the Congress
  • Rajendra Gehlot of the BJP were elected to the upper house from Rajasthan without any cross-voting. 
  • The BJP had fielded a second candidate as well, Onkar Singh Lakhawat, but he lost.
  • With this, the number of Congress party’s tally in the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan has increased to three, the other seven are BJP members.
  • The Rajasthan BJP objected to Congress MLA Wajib Ali voting in the Rajya Sabha polls, alleging that he recently returned from abroad and violated quarantine norms. The Nagar MLA wore a PPE suit before voting in the assembly building.
Madhya Pradesh Rajya Sabha Election
  • In Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki were elected on BJP
  • Digvijaya Singh won from the Congress. 
  • The other Congress candidate, Dalit leader Phool Singh Barriya, lost the election. 
  • Samajwadi Party MLA Rajesh Shukla was expelled by his party for voting for the BJP.
Andhra Pradesh Rajya Sabha Election
  • Andhra Pradesh, the ruling YSR Congress scooped up all four seats as expected.
  • Deputy Chief Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, Minister Mopidevi Venkata Ramana, industrialist Parimal Nathwani and realtor Ayodhya Rami Reddy of the YSRC were elected with 38 votes each. 
  • The opposition Telugu Desam Party, which had forced the contest despite not having the numbers, lost badly.
Manipur Rajya Sabha Election
  • BJP candidate Leisemba Sanajaoba won the election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat, defeating the Congress nominee in a high-voltage political drama that triggered by the rebellion of nine MLAs of the ruling BJP-led coalition. 
Jharkhand Rajya Sabha Election
  • Former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren and
  • BJP state unit president Deepak Prakash won two Rajya seats from the state. 
Meghalaya Rajya Sabha Election
  • In Meghalaya, the National People’s Party’s (NPP) W R Kharlukhi won the lone seat from the state. 
Mizoram Rajya Sabha Election
  • In Mizoram, the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF) also won the state’s only seat.

The Election Commission made elaborate arrangements for the voting because of the pandemic. Every MLA was screened for body temperature and while sticking to safety measures like wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing. Legislators having a fever or showing other symptoms were kept in a separate waiting room.