The candidates elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha are: eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani, RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s daughter Misa Bharati, JD(U) leaders Sharad Yadav and RCP Singh, and Gopal Narayan Singh of BJP.
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Former Union Ministers from Congress Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh on Monday filed nominations for the biennial elections.
Polling for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan will take place on June 11 as no candidate withdrew their nomination on Friday, the last date for withdrawal of candidature.
As the main opposition party, the BJP is sitting pretty, with 44 members and its twin regional allies BSR-C and KJP, assuring it of their five members support for its candidate – Union Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. All six nominees of AIADMK and DMK in Tamil Nadu were declared elected.
While a candidate needs 45 votes to win, Congress is short by 12 votes for its third candidate and the JD(S) is short by 10 for its only candidate.
He has been the state BJP president (2006-09) as well as a Rajya Sabha member earlier (2008-2014).
Also it should be ensured that high profile personalities may not be nominated as Rajya Sabha members just for the sake of adding one more feather to their cap as such persons of eminence fail to attend the proceedings of Upper House.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y Satyanarayana Chowdary were elected unanimously to Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh.
Congress has accused Preeti of being a BJP candidate who could encourage horse-trading that might queer the pitch of Sibal who needs five extra votes for victory. Recently, the BSP bailed out the Congress in Uttrakhand as well. Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati is yet to spell out which way her 12 surplus BSP lawmakers will go as after getting both its nominees elected. As usual, independents and smaller parties are the obvious target for the party in power. In this scenario, Rashtriya Lok Dal with eight MLAs has gained importance.
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With Rajya Sabha elections slated for next week, the Election Commission today held a meeting during which it is understood to have discussed the situation arising out of the TV channel expose about alleged deal negotiated by four Karnataka MLAs for their support in the elections.
