Voting For Rajya Sabha Halted After BJP Objects to 2 Congress Votes

Chandigarh: Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections has been halted after the BJP raised objections to two votes cast by the Congress. BJP's Gaurav Gautam and Kishan Bedi had objected to both these votes. The Congress has also objected to Minister Anil Vij's vote. The counting has been halted for over an hour.

Gaurav Gautam is the BJP's polling agent, and Kishan Bedi is the party's election agent.

The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will complete in April. Among them, 26 candidates were elected unopposed which included seven from the BJP, five from the Congress, four from the Trinamool Congress, three from DMK, and one from Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL. 

Notable winners included Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.

The most interesting highlight of the ongoing Rajya Sabha polls is the political detour of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

Nitish Kumar, Bihar's longest-tenured Chief Minister for over two decades, announced that he would be heading to the Rajya Sabha and filed his nomination in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among other leaders.

The 75-year-old also said that the new Cabinet would have his full support.

"I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance," Nitish Kumar posted on X.

Apart from Nitish Kumar, other NDA candidates, including Upendra Kushwaha and BJP chief Nitin Nabin, also filed their nominations for the Upper House.Amid apprehensions of possible cross-voting and allegations of horse-trading, several political parties, particularly the Congress, have moved their legislators to resorts and locations outside their home states in a bid to ensure unity within their ranks ahead of the polling.

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