Voting for Rajya Sabha Seats To Begin Today, Tight Races Expected in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana

New Delhi: Voting for 37 Rajya Sabha seats is to be held on Monday and the results will also be declared by the evening of the same day. In these elections, the contest for many seats in seven states has already ended, as 26 candidates have been elected unopposed. These names include many big faces like Sharad Pawar, Ramdas Athawale, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Thambi Durai, Vinod Tawde and Babul Supriyo. However, the contest still remains interesting in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana, where the picture will be clear only after voting.

In which states is there competition?

Candidates have already been elected unopposed to most of the seats in the Rajya Sabha elections, but the equations in Bihar, Odisha and Haryana are not completely clear yet. The arithmetic between political parties in these three states has become extremely interesting and the possibility of cross-voting has made the contest even more intriguing.

Who will compete for the fifth seat in Bihar?

The results on four seats in Bihar are considered almost certain. Here the victory of Nitish Kumar and Ramnath Thakur, as well as BJP's Nitin Naveen and Shivam Kumar is considered almost certain. The real contest is on the fifth seat, where NDA candidate Upendra Kushwaha and Grand Alliance's AD Singh are face-to-face.

The Grand Alliance currently has the support of about 35 MLAs, while 41 votes are required for victory. Five AIMIM MLAs have indicated their support to the Grand Alliance and the votes of BSP MLAs may also go in this direction. NDA is confident that Kushwaha can win if he gets some additional support.

What is the mathematics of seats in Odisha?

In Odisha, the contest seems balanced between BJP and BJD. To win a Rajya Sabha seat in the state's 147-member assembly, 30 votes are required. BJP together with its allies has 82 votes, due to which the victory of its two candidates is considered almost certain.

However, for the third seat the party will have to garner additional votes. On the other hand, BJD has 48 MLAs, due to which one of its candidates can win comfortably. BJD's position may become stronger if it gets support from Congress and left parties.

How did the election mathematics go wrong in Haryana?

The contest in Haryana has also become interesting. BJP has 48 MLAs in the 90-member assembly and also has the support of some independents and INLD MLAs. Due to this, the victory of BJP's official candidate Sanjay Bhatia is considered almost certain.

Congress has 37 MLAs and is in a position to make its candidate Karamveer Bodh win. But the contest became interesting when BJP supported independent candidate Satish Nandal changed the electoral equations by entering the fray.

Why is Congress afraid of cross voting?

In view of the fear of cross-voting in Haryana, Congress has sent many of its MLAs out of the state. The party fears that if some MLAs vote for the other side, the result may be unpredictable. This is the reason why Congress has sent 31 of its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh so that there is no division before the voting.

Overall, the voting on Monday could prove to be a real test of the strategy of political parties and loyalty of MLAs in the three states. The results coming by evening will decide which alliance's strategy was successful in these states.