New Delhi : Elections for 19 seats of Rajya Sabha from eight states of the country are going to be held today. There is likely to be a close contest between the BJP and the Congress in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The election to 18 seats was postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic. Later, the Election Commission announced to hold elections for four seats from Karnataka and one seat each from Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. In the 19 seats of Rajya Sabha, there will be four seats each from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand and one each from Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Elections there are also likely to be interesting due to the resignation of nine members of the ruling coalition in Manipur.
In Manipur, BJP has fielded Lisemba Sanajaoba and Congress has fielded T. Mangi Babu. In Karnataka, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP candidates Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti have already been declared unopposed winner in four seats. The unopposed victory of BJP candidate Nabam Rebia from the lone seat of Rajya Sabha has also been declared from Arunachal Pradesh. The Election Commission has said that the counting of votes for all 19 seats will take place in the evening itself.
In the wake of the coronavirus epidemic, the Election Commission has made appropriate arrangements for voting. The body temperature of each voter (MLA) will be checked and social distance rules will be followed. The contest in Gujarat is likely to be interesting as no one in the ruling BJP and Congress has enough numbers in the Assembly to win their candidates on their own.
In Rajasthan, the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP have kept their respective MLAs in separate hotels, accusing each other of luring the MLAs. Four members will be elected to the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. The ruling YSR Congress is expected to win all the four seats due to the sufficient number of seats in the state assembly. For the first time after the bifurcation of the state in 2014, elections are being held for Rajya Sabha seats here.