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Rajya Sabha elections Monday accentuated the opposition's inability to clasp its ranks, with absentee legislators costing the Grand Alliance a spot successful Bihar, cross-voting delivering a bonus spot to BJP successful Odisha and a quality implicit ballot secrecy leaving the canvass result successful Haryana hanging.
In Bihar, Mahagathbandhan's lone candidate, RJD's Amarendra Dhari Singh, mislaid aft 4 absorption legislators — 3 from Congress and 1 from RJD — stayed distant from the election. Had they voted, Singh would person secured 41 votes against the required threshold of 40, alternatively of the 37 helium polled. Bihar past saw an RS ballot successful 2014, erstwhile JD(U) candidates Pavan Varma and Gulam Rasool Balyawi overcame crossvoting by enactment MLAs to decision BJP-backed independents.
Nitish, Nitin triumph Rajya Sabha seats arsenic NDA sweeps BiharIn Bihar, each 5 NDA candidates — outgoing CM Nitish Kumar, caller BJP president Nitin Nabin, Union curate Ram Nath Thakur, Rashtriya Lok Morcha president Upendra Kushwaha and authorities BJP wide caput Shivesh Kumar — won the biennial elections to capable 5 Rajya Sabha berths that volition beryllium vacated connected April 9. All 202 NDA MLAs voted, and nary cross-voting was reported. Among the NDA candidates, Nitish and Nitin each polled 44 votes portion Ram Nath and Upendra received 42 each.
Shivesh had 30 first-preference votes, crossing the threshold connected second-preference counting. In Odisha, 11 instances of cross-voting — 8 by BJD members and 3 by Congress — handed BJP-backed Independent Dilip Ray the 4th Rajya Sabha seat, defeating BJD and Congress’s associated campaigner Datteswar Hota.
BJP nominees Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar won comfortably, arsenic did BJD’s Santrupt Misra. BJD, with 50 MLAs — including 2 suspended members — had the required spot successful the assembly to triumph 1 spot connected its ain and had tied up with Congress’s 14 to unafraid a second.
Cross-voting upended that arithmetic. BJD president and erstwhile CM Naveen Patnaik accused BJP of horse-trading, saying astir non-BJP MLAs who backed the governing enactment had “criminal backgrounds”. CM Mohan Charan Majhi termed the remarks “immature” and said Patnaik had “insulted not conscionable the MLAs by calling them criminals, but besides the voters who elected them”. Odisha PCC president Bhakta Charan Das described the defection of 3 Congress MLAs — Sofia Firdous, Ramesh Jena and Dasarathi Gamango — arsenic “unexpected”.
He said the substance had been referred to the enactment precocious command. For Ray, the publication was a acquainted one. The erstwhile Union curate won a Rajya Sabha spot successful 2002 nether near-identical circumstances. On that occasion, helium was contesting arsenic an Independent aft being expelled from BJD and was carried done by large-scale cross-voting. Haryana’s two-seat contention remained unresolved Monday nighttime aft some BJP and Congress lodged complaints with the Election Commission.
Of 90 MLAs successful the House, 88 voted.
Both Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) legislators abstained, with Abhay Chautala citing a deficiency of assurance successful either party. Each spot requires 31 votes to win. The 3 candidates are BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, Congress nominee Karamvir Singh Boudh and BJPbacked Independent Satish Nandal. BJP has 48 seats successful the assembly and Congress 37. The 3 legislators are Independents. BJP curate Krishan Kumar Bedi filed 2 objections, alleging that 2 Congress legislators failed to fold their ballots correctly, compromising ballot secrecy.
Till adjacent to midnight, the presiding serviceman was awaiting main predetermination commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s ruling connected the dispute
