Rajya Sabha polls 2022: How can an MLA's vote get rejected? Here's all you need to know

As the Rajya Sabha elections were held on Friday for 16 seats in four states - Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Karnataka, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday demanded the rejection of three votes by MLAs in Maharashtra and two votes in Haryana, citing a breach of the poll code. Hence, here is the answer to how can a Rajya Sabha vote be rejected.

How is a Rajya Sabha vote rejected?

Rajya Sabha MPs are elected through an open ballot. The MLAs vote in the Rajya Sabha elections with the single transferable vote (STV) system.

There have been several instances in the past when votes in the Rajya Sabha polls were rejected. One example is the 2017 Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat when the votes of two rebel Congress MLAs were rejected after the grand old party had complained to the Election Commission against them for showing their votes to an unauthorised BJP agent. The ECI, therefore, rejected the two votes by using its power under Article 324 of the Indian Constitution. 

As per reports, in the 2016 Haryana Rajya Sabha polls, Congress' Randeep Singh Surjewala and then Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Kiran Choudhary had cast their votes, which were later declared invalid as they showed their votes to a wrong agent. 

It is important to note that all political parties which have MLAs can appoint an authorised agent to verify as to whom their members have voted for.

How are Rajya Sabha members elected?

Rajya Sabha is a permanent House and is not subject to dissolution. A member who is elected for a full term serves for a period of six years. The representatives of each State and 2 Union Territories (UT) are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly by means of the single transferable vote, in accordance with the system of proportional representation.

In the case of Union Territory, the Electoral College votes for the Rajya Sabha members. The Electoral College of Delhi consists of the elected members of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, and that for Puducherry consists of the elected members of the Puducherry Legislative Assembly.

The Rajya Sabha election 2022 was held for 16 seats of the Rajya Sabha across four states on Friday. Among the four states were Maharastra with six seats, Rajasthan with four seats, Karnataka with four seats, and Haryana with two seats. The counting of votes will take place at 5 p.m.

The Maharashtra candidates for 6 seats are - Piyush Goyal (BJP), Anil Bonde (BJP), Dhananjay Mahadik (BJP), Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena), Sanjay Pawar (Shiv Sena), Imran Pratapgarhi (Congress), and Praful Patel (NCP). 

The Rajasthan candidates for 4 seats are - Ghanshyam Tiwari (BJP), Randeep Surjewala (Congress), Mukul Wasnik (Congress), Pramod Tiwari (Congress), and Subhash Chandra (Independent).

The Karnataka candidates for 4 seats are - Nirmala Sitharaman (BJP), Jaggesh (BJP), Lahar Singh Siroya (BJP), Jairam Ramesh (Congress), Mansoor Ali Khan (Congress), and Kupendra Reddy (JDS).

The Haryana candidates for 2 seats are - Ajay Maken (Congress), Krishan Pal Panwar (BJP), and Kartikeya Sharma (Independent).