Rajya Sabha Election in 16 vacant seats To Take Place Today

Elections to fill the 16 vacant seats in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the parliament, will take place on Friday.

In Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Haryana, a total of 41 candidates were elected without opposition, making the election over 16 seats.

It is viewed as critical in the run-up to the presidential election in July.

There were 57 empty seats across 15 states, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holding 23 and the Congress holding eight. Other political parties competed for the remaining seats.

As things stand, the most difficult elections will be held in opposition-ruled Rajasthan and Maharashtra. To prevent poaching, both factions have corralled their MLAs in these states.

It should be noted that Uttar Pradesh has the most seats, with 11, followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, each with six.

The ruling party BJP became the first party since 1990 to cross the 100-mark in the upper house and will expect the elections to help shore up its numbers ahead of the Presidential polls.