BSP MLA Anil Singh cross-votes for BJP candidate in Rajya Sabha election
Voting is underway in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Kerala.
New Delhi: Voting is underway for 25 of 59 Rajya Sabha seats spread across six states today.
For the 59 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were declared elected unopposed. All eyes are set on the elections in Uttar Pradesh where the BJP has exuded confidence of winning 9 out of ten seats.
Voting is also underway in five other states -- West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana while a by-poll is being held for a seat in Kerala.
Seven union ministers including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar were elected unopposed last week.
Also read: Voting for 25 Rajya Sabha seats begins: Will BJP win ninth seat in Uttar Pradesh?
Counting of ballots will happen at 5 pm, an hour after voting ends.
Here are the LIVE updates of Rajya Sabha elections 2018:
- 11:15 am: All the 9 candidates of BJP will win. SP insulted their worker and people will answer them for choosing a candidate that entertains the society rather than one who serves the society: SP MLA Nitin Agrawal (son of BJP leader Naresh Agrawal)
- 10:59 am: Voting underway for one Rajya Sabha seat in the Kerala Legislative Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram
- 10:31 am: I have voted for BJP, I don't know about the rest: Anil Singh, BSP MLA
- 10:30 am: Voting is underway at Vidhan Soudha in Bengaluru for 4 Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka
- 10:28 am: Voting is being held at Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly in Raipur for one Rajya Sabha seat from the state
- 09:58 am: BJP will win all the 9 Rajya Sabha seats where we have fielded our candidates. 9 more BJP candidates will make entry to Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh this time: Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya
Also read: Here's a complete guide to today's Rajya Sabha elections
- 09:55 am: There will be no cross-voting, but yes BJP MLAs will cross-vote in our favour: Ram Gopal Yadav, SP
- 09:48 am: MLAs queue up at West Bengal assembly to cast their votes for in Kolkata. 5 seats are being contested from the state
- 09:36 am: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath meets party MLAs in Lucknow
- 09:01 am: Voting for the Rajya Sabha election has begun
Rajya Sabha has a total of 245 seats and 126 seats are needed for a majority in the house.
Also read: All you need to know about Rajya Sabha elections 2018
The BJP that currently has 58 members -- four more than the Congress - is expected to improve its tally as it rules 11 of the 16 states where Rajya Sabha elections is being held today.