Rajya sabha polls: voting begins for 11 seats in bihar, odisha and haryana

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Voting for a total of 11 Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana began on Monday morning. The contests in these three states are being seen as quite interesting. After the voting process concludes, counting of votes will begin at 5 pm and the results are expected to be announced later today.

Earlier, elections were scheduled for 37 Rajya Sabha seats, but candidates were elected unopposed on 26 seats across seven states. These include 5 seats in West Bengal, 7 in Maharashtra, 6 in Tamil Nadu, 4 in Odisha, 3 in Assam, 2 each in Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Telangana, and 1 seat in Himachal Pradesh.

Voting for five seats in bihar

Voting is being held for five Rajya Sabha seats in Bihar. The ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has fielded five candidates, while the opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has nominated one candidate. Among the NDA nominees are Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Naveen. Legislators are casting their votes at the polling center set up in the Bihar Assembly complex from 9 am to 5 pm.

Close contest on two seats in haryana

Voting is also underway for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana. The contest has become interesting as candidates from the BJP, Congress and an independent candidate are in the fray. Independent candidate Satish Nandal is believed to be contesting with the support of three independent MLAs and indirect backing from the BJP.

Meanwhile, the Congress fears possible cross-voting among its legislators. Due to this concern, the party had earlier sent most of its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh and plans were made to bring them to Chandigarh just before voting.

Allegations of cross-voting in odisha

In Odisha, five candidates are contesting for four Rajya Sabha seats, raising the possibility of cross-voting. Amid the political contest, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of attempting to influence the election through alleged horse-trading.

With political accusations and counter-accusations continuing, attention is now focused on the vote counting and the final results later in the day.