All eyes on the ‘extra’ factor in Rajya Sabha polls

All eyes will be on the extra candidates for the Rajya Sabha polls in Rajasthan and Haryana when elections will be held for the remaining 16 seats in states including Karnataka and Maharashtra on Friday.

Candidates for 41 of 57 Rajya Sabha vacancies which are to be filled up in this slot of biennial elections have already been elected unopposed in other states in which NDA has won one seat less than their previous number.

The Election Commission on Thursday appointed special observers to oversee the poll process amid apprehensions of horse-trading expressed by political parties, which have once again taken the resort route to protect their MLAs from being poached.

Also Read: Maharashtra sees voting for Rajya Sabha seats after quarter of century

With the unopposed election of 41 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand on Friday, now the polls are to held only in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan.

To make up for the losses, BJP is trying to win extra seats in the election for the remaining slots on Friday. It has put up an extra candidate each in Maharashtra and Karnataka officially and backed one independent each in Rajasthan and Haryana. However given the numbers it has, it is unlikely to even retain the 11 seats that it earlier held.

Hence it is attempting to fish in troubled waters of Congress in Haryana and Rajasthan.

Fielding media baron and former Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Subhash Chandra from Rajasthan this time has led to a lot of speculation in the political circles in the desert state where the Congress leadership is wide split between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps.

Though both have put up a united face ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, it remains to be seen if the BJP can pull the strings for Chandra. BJP had lost power in Rajasthan in 2018 and even the gain of one Rajya Sabha seat in the desert state could act as a morale booster for it ahead of 2023 state polls.

Similarly, BJP is lending its weight behind independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma in Haryana. A worried Congress had packed off its MLAs to a resort in party-ruled Chhattisgarh a week ago, who will come to Chandigarh tomorrow morning just before the voting. The worry is on part of party MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who can influence at least five legislators. Bishnoi is cut up with senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda after he lost out in the race for state party chief. Congress fears the BJP will play its game around this faultline.

Similarly, there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats in Maharashtra.

Also Read: Here is what you should know about 2022 Rajya Sabha elections

In the fight for the sixth seat, the deciding factor will be the 25 additional votes of smaller parties and independents.

BJP’s loss of its oldest ally Shiv Sena in Maharashtra and subsequently a government there in 2019 will hurt its prospects there. So far the trends suggest that NDA’s numbers will slightly come down in Rajya Sabha after the polls while regional parties will make gains.

States- Seats

Maharashtra- 06

Rajasthan-04

Karnataka-04

Haryana-02