Rajya Sabha Polls: In Big Win For BJP, Party Bags 8 Seats In Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh's SP Gets 2 Seats

The ruling BJP and the principal opposition SP had the numbers in the Assembly to send seven and three members respectively unopposed to the Rajya Sabha.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath leaves after casting his vote for the Rajya Sabha elections in Lucknow.

Source : PTI

In a big win for the BJP in Rajya Sabha polls, the saffron party on Tuesday managed to grab eight seats in UP, while the opposition Samajwadi Party won two seats. 

The polling for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh concluded on Tuesday evening amidst apprehensions within the Samajwadi Party (SP) regarding cross-voting and the unexpected resignation of the party's chief whip during the polling process.

Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya, while speaking on BJP's lead in Rajya Sabha polls, said he has been saying from the beginning that the party will win 8 seats. 

"All our 8 candidates have won today. I congratulate all the winning candidates. I thank the people due to whose votes they won. Two SP candidates have also won. So, congratulations to Akhilesh Yadav too... BJP's vijay yatra that began in Rajya Sabha will continue in Lok Sabha and then go on till Vidhan Sabha elections and even further," Maurya said.

#WATCH | Rajya Sabha elections | Uttar Pradesh Deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya says, "We had been saying from the beginning that all 8 candidates of the BJP will win. All our 8 candidates have won today. I congratulate all the winning candidates. I thank the people due to whose… pic.twitter.com/QYWJ7iVgSb

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2024

In a setback for Akhilesh's Samajwadi Party, MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned as the chief whip in the Assembly on the day of voting. This comes a day after eight MLAs, including Pandey, skipped a meeting called by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav at his residence here to brief party legislators about the voting process.

#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh | BJP leaders and workers raise slogans and celebrate in Lucknow as all 8 candidates of the party from the state win the Rajya Sabha elections. pic.twitter.com/TQT0xuqT4L

— ANI (@ANI) February 27, 2024

SP President Akhilesh Yadav, Chief Minister Yogi Aditynath, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak and Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna were among the prominent faces who cast their votes in the assembly.

SP MLAs Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh and Rakesh Pandey, who were among the eight to skip Yadav's Monday night meeting, arrived in the same vehicle.

The ruling BJP and the principal opposition SP have the numbers in the Assembly to send seven and three members respectively unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, but with the BJP fielding its eighth candidate, a keen contest is on the cards in one of the seats.

The BJP and the SP are the largest parties in the 403-member House with 252 MLAs and 108 MLAs respectively. The Congress, an alliance partner of the SP, has two seats.

BJP ally Apna Dal (Sonelal) has 13 seats, the NISHAD Party has six seats, RLD has nine seats, SBSP six, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik two and the BSP has one seat. Four seats are currently vacant.

The candidates fielded by the BJP are former Union minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of the party's Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, former Agra mayor Naveen Jain and industrialist Sanjay Seth.

The Samajwadi Party has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. 

To get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh, a candidate needs nearly 37 first-preference votes.