In a closely watched contest marked with cross-voting and defections, the ruling Congress on Friday won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan while BJP bagged three seats in Karnataka. The counting of votes was put on hold in Maharashtra and Haryana over alleged violation of rules, PTI reported.


Elections were held for 16 seats of Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Friday as 41 candidates were already elected unopposed in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand.


Rajya Sabha Elections: Here Are The Top Developments



  •  In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats, overcoming the challenge posed by BJP-backed independent candidate and media baron Subhash Chandra. Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari were elected to the Rajya Sabha amid cross-voting by BJP members.

  •  The BJP got the fourth seat in Rajasthan, with former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari claiming he received 43 votes.

  •  Congratulating the winners, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot tweeted, "It was clear from the beginning that the Congress had the required majority for all three seats. But BJP tried horse trading by fielding an independent". "The solidarity of our MLAs has given a befitting reply to this effort. The BJP will face a similar defeat in the 2023 assembly elections as well," he tweeted.

  •  Meanwhile, BJP suspended its Rajasthan MLA Shobharani Kushwah for cross-voting in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari, PTI reported. Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria issued an order stating Kushwah voted for Tiwari despite a whip and that she was being suspended from the BJP's primary membership.

  •  In Karnataka, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor-politician Jaggesh, ex-MLC Lehar Singh Siroya of BJP and former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh of Congress were elected to the Rajya Sabha. The JD(S) failed to secure victory for its only candidate.

  •  Following her Rajya Sabha win, Nirmala Sitharaman thanked BS Yediyurappa for his blessings and support. "I thank every MLA & through them, the people of Karnataka for having given me the 2nd opportunity to serve them...I thank the BJP Karnataka unit & every worker," ANI quoted Sitharaman as saying.

  • The counting of votes has been halted in Maharashtra and Haryana. In Maharashtra, the opposition BJP alleged three MLAs of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- Jitendra Awhad (NCP), Yashomati Thakur (Congress), Suhas Kande (Shiv Sena) -- violated the model code for voting, PTI reported.

  • In Haryana, BJP nominee Krishan Lal Panwar and Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma have written to the Election Commission to cancel the votes of two Congress MLAs. They have alleged that Congress MLAs Kiran Choudhary and BB Batra showed their ballot papers to unauthorised persons after marking them, PTI reported.


(With inputs from agencies)