The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements for the voting in view of the pandemic.
The Congress has won two of three Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, while the BJP won the third in the biennial election held on Friday. In Madhya Pradesh, the score was flipped where the ruling BJP won two and Congress one. The build-up to the elections, in which 24 seats from 10 states were at stake, was marked by a resurgence of resort politics, resignations, switching sides and allegations of bribery.
A comfortable majority in the Rajya Sabha is crucial for the BJP to pilot bills through the upper house. The NDA needs around 30 more seats to have majority in the upper house.
Here are the Updates on Rajya Sabha elections:
BJP Wins 3, Conress 1 In Gujarat
Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin from the BJP and Congress's Shaktisinh Gohil won the election in Gujarat. The Congress party had also fielded Bharatsinh Solanki for a second seat but he lost. Counting of votes for four seats in Gujarat was delayed as the Congress demanded that the Election Commission scrap two BJP votes on different grounds.
Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP-Congress 2-1 In Madhya Pradesh, 1-2 In Rajasthan
The ruling Congress won two of three Rajya Sabha seats up for voting in Rajasthan while the BJP won the third in the biennial election held on Friday. The score was flipped in Madhya Pradesh where the ruling BJP won two and Congress one. The outcome for the closely-watched contest in Gujarat is still awaited. The build-up to the elections, in which 24 seats from 10 states were at stake, was marked by a resurgence of resort politics, resignations, switching sides and allegations of bribery.
KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi of the Congress and 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, out of a total of 10. The other seven are BJP members.
In Madhya Pradesh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki were elected on BJP tickets while 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.
Breaking News: Congress Wins Two Seats In Rajasthan In Rajya Sabha Polls, BJP OneThe ruling Congress has won two of three Rajya Sabha seats up for voting in Rajasthan, while the BJP won the third on Friday. Congress' KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi are set to enter Rajya Sabha, while from the BJP, it wil be Rajendra Gehlot who will enter the Upper House.
Read More Congress MLA Who Has Coronavirus Votes In PPE Suit For Rajya Sabha PollsThe coronavirus pandemic did not stop a Congress MLA in Madhya Pradesh from voting in the elections to 24 Rajya Sabha seats today. Covered from head to toe in a white protective jumpsuit, Congress MLA Kunal Chaudhary was among the last leaders who turned up to vote at the state assembly in Bhopal.
Mr Chaudhary has been tested positive for the highly infectious COVID-19.
His turn to vote came after at least 205 MLAs had already cast their votes. Mr Chaudhary, wearing personal protective equipment or PPE suit and carrying a mobile phone in his hand, walked into a room to cast his vote.
Read Manipur Update: Voting Concludes In Manipur Assembly
1. Polling for Rajya Sabha in Manipur Assembly over.
2. 52 MLAs have cast their votes.
3. Congress led new political formation Secular Progressive Alliance to meet Manipur governor Najma Heptullah at 5 PM.
4. BJP sources claim that as many as seven congress MLAs have cross voted in their favour
5. Hearing continues at Manipur High Court over urgent petition that Congress had filed over the Speaker's actions
Congress' internal disputes will come out after Rajya Sabha poll results: Gujarat Chief Minister
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that the Congress has internal disputes and after the Rajya Sabha election results these will be out in the open.
The comments came at the state Assembly in Gandhinagar where he had gone to cast his vote. "The voting for Rajya Sabha elections has started. All the candidates of BJP will win. Congress knows that it will not win the election as their every strategy has failed and BJP''s all MLAs are together," Mr Rupani said.
Congress will win one Rajya Sabha seat from Madhya Pradesh: Kamal Nath
Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath says that the party will win a seat to Rajya Sabha from the state.
The comments came after he cast his vote at the state Assembly in Bhopal. "It is very clear that we will win one seat in the Rajya Sabha Election."
Voting for the three vacant Rajya Sabha seats from Madhya Pradesh began this morning.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister casts his vote
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy casts his vote for the Rajya Sabha Election, at the state Assembly in Amaravati.
Voting is underway for four Rajya Sabha seats of the state.
Rajya Sabha elections: Counting to begin at 5 PM
The voting for Rajya Sabha elections started from 9:00 am and will continue till 4:00 pm. The counting will take place at 5:00 pm.
Voting underway in Jharkhand
BJP MLA Biranchi Narayan from Jharkhand says Independent MLAs Saryu Rai and Amit Yadav have extended their support to the BJP. "We hope to get the support of 2 other MLAs. With 32 votes, we hope to send Deepak Prakash to Rajya Sabha."
Voting is underway for 2 Rajya Sabha seats at the state Assembly in Ranchi.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan casts his vote for Rajya Sabha Election at the state Assembly in Bhopal.
Voting for Rajya Sabha elections begins
Currently, the NDA has 91 of the 245 Rajya Sabha seats, the UPA has 61. The other opposition and the non-aligned parties together have 68 seats. The key candidates in today's election include Shakti Singh Gohil and Bharat Singh Solanki from Gujarat, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Digvijaya Singh from Madhya Pradesh and KC Venugopal from Rajasthan.