Rajya Sabha Polls: BJP Wins 9 of 11 Seats, Misses Haryana Independent by 0.3%

The results for the Rajya Sabha elections held on Monday for 11 seats across Haryana, Bihar, and Odisha have been announced. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) emerged victorious on 9 of these 11 seats. In Bihar, the NDA swept all 5 seats, while in Odisha, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured 3 out of 4 seats. In Haryana, the 2 seats were split between the BJP and the Congress. 3% in Haryana.

Clean Sweep for NDA in Bihar

In Bihar, the NDA maintained a complete stronghold by winning all 5 Rajya Sabha seats. The successful candidates include Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP State President Nitin Navin, Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) Chief Upendra Kushwaha, Union Minister Ramnath Thakur, and Shivesh Ram, while according to officials, the opposition failed to mount a significant challenge, leading to the unopposed or decisive victory of all five alliance candidates. This sweep reinforces the alliance's numerical superiority in the state assembly.

BJP Dominance in Odisha Rajya Sabha Polls

Out of the 4 Rajya Sabha seats contested in Odisha, the BJP won 3, while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) managed to secure 1 seat. The winning candidates from the BJP camp include State President Manmohan Samal, Sujit Kumar (who recently defected from BJD to BJP), and veteran leader Dilip Ray, who contested as a party-supported candidate. The results indicate a significant shift in the political landscape of Odisha, where the BJP has successfully expanded its footprint in the upper house of Parliament.

The Mathematical Margin in Haryana

The election for the 2 seats in Haryana witnessed intense drama that lasted until late at night. While BJP's Sanjay Bhatia secured a comfortable win, the second seat saw a neck-and-neck battle, while congress candidate Karmveer Baudh defeated BJP-backed independent Satish Nandal by a razor-thin margin. Based on the vote value formula, the required quota for victory was 2767.33. 3%, determined the final outcome in favor of the Congress.

Impact of Invalid Votes and INLD Boycott

The Haryana election was marked by several technicalities that influenced the final result. Out of the 90-member assembly, only 83 votes were considered valid. Two MLAs from the Indian National Local Dal (INLD) remained absent, effectively boycotting the polls, while On top of that, 4 votes from the Congress and 1 from the BJP were declared invalid during the counting process. According to political observers, the absence of INLD legislators played a crucial role, as their support for the independent candidate could have potentially altered the result against the Congress.

Political Repercussions and Cross-Voting Allegations

The victory of the Congress candidate in Haryana is being viewed as a significant boost for Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, the election also exposed internal fissures, as Hooda confirmed that 5 Congress MLAs cross-voted in favor of the BJP-backed independent candidate. Hooda stated that the party would take action against those who betrayed the mandate. Conversely, BJP's Sanjay Bhatia alleged that the Congress had kept its MLAs in confinement to prevent them from voting according to their conscience, while also accusing the INLD of acting as the 'B-team' of the Congress.