Rajya Sabha Election Result: UP Sorted, Midnight Drama In Jharkhand

Rajya Sabha election results: Jharkhand results were delayed over Congress charges of irregularities

Highlights

Voting in 7 states, to fill 25 of 59 Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant
33 candidates have been elected to Rajya Sabha unopposed
BJP is expected to gain about a dozen seats in the Upper House

New Delhi: In a nail-biting finish last evening, the BJP managed to outwit Mayawati by ensuring her Bahujan Samaj Party's sole candidate was denied a Rajya Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Just after that, a row broke out in Jharkhand as election officials held back the result for the state's second seat. The ruling BJP had won one seat and the second, was expected to go to the Congress. That announcement eventually came past midnight and the Congress' Dheeraj Sahu was declared elected. Just minutes earlier, the Congress had added to the drama around the elections, putting out a video that seems to show a state BJP leader getting the election official to speak with someone. The Congress claimed the video footage was evidence that the ruling BJP government was piling pressure on the election official to disqualify a vote that went to the Congress.

Here is your 10-point guide to the Rajya Sabha election 2018:

The Congress, which fielded a candidate against the BJP in Jharkhand, managed to snatch victory despite having only seven votes. Congress candidate Dheeraj Sahu snatched victory from the BJP's Pradeep Sonthalia by a fraction of value of votes, after taking into consideration second preference votes of three BJP legislators.
For the big battle in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP backed an Independent candidate against Mayawati's BSP. The BJP had the numbers to win eight seats, but backed a ninth to force a contest. With 19 lawmakers, Mayawati's BSP had expected to push through its candidate with surplus votes from the SP, Congress and a few Independents.
The BSP had counted on eight SP votes, seven Congress votes, one from Ajit Singh's party and Independents. But with a BSP leader cross-voting for the BJP, and at least two independents are believed to have turned their backs on her, Mayawati fell several seats short.
After the results were declared, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, in his address, said, "People of the state have once again seen the opportunistic face of the SP". Then, in a remark seen as a reference to the lessons of the recent by-elections the party lost, he said, "The wise must learn from the bump and not fall in a ditch".
Calling the BJP win a victory of money power and intimidation, BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra said, "Don't ask about future of the alliance... but we are satisfied with the SP's efforts". Akhilesh Yadav's support to Mayawati was part of a deal under which they joined forces to win the state's two most prestigious parliamentary seats. The success of the arrangement was seen as a mark of hope for a larger alliance in next year's general elections.
Among the eight BJP candidates who won from Uttar Pradesh is Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Samajwadi Party's Jaya Bachchan also sailed through.
Of West Bengal's five seats, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool won four seats. With the party's surplus votes, Congress's Abhishek Manu Singhvi won the fifth. The Left, which put up a token candidate, lost.
The Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka went on expected lines despite allegations of cross-voting and cover-up by the opposition Janata Dal (Secular). The Congress won three seats, the BJP won the fourth. The JD(S) had demanded that elections be cancelled, claiming two Congressmen who cross-voted, were given a second chance. The Election officials cancelled the two votes. The Congress, with 30 extra votes, won with the help of JD(U) rebels and others.
In Telangana, the ruling TRS, which had the numbers for only two of its three candidates, managed to win a third with the support of the AIMIM of Asaduddin Owaisi. The Congress fielded a candidate in a token contest. The opposition BJP and TDP did not take part in the Rajya Sabha election.
In Kerala, the Left-led coalition won the state's single seat, defeating the Congress-led opposition grouping. The Left had enough to win the lone seat and had 19 votes to spare.