Rajya Sabha polls: Tough fight expected with potential cross-voting in Congress-ruled states, UP

Three seats in two Congress-ruled states and one in Uttar Pradesh are expected to witness a fierce competition in the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls scheduled for Tuesday. There are indications of potential cross-voting by Opposition MLAs, prompting the Congress and Samajwadi Party to monitor the situation closely.

In Karnataka, Congress MLAs have been moved to a safe house to avoid external influences. In Himachal Pradesh, the Congress has issued a whip to its MLAs for the election to its exclusive Rajya Sabha seat, drawing criticism from the BJP.

The Samajwadi Party, the main Opposition in Uttar Pradesh, has denied rumours of internal dissent, despite claims that at least 10 of the party's MLAs may cross-vote. The BJP has nominated former SP member and industrialist, Sanjay Seth, as its eighth candidate, escalating the political tension.

The SP has nominated actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan, and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman. Moreover, 8 SP MLAs did not attend a party meeting held on Monday ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls amid cross-voting fears, India Today reported citing sources aware of the matter. 

The MLAs who gave the meeting a skip were Rakesh Pratap Singh, Abhay Singh, Maharaji Prajapti, Vinod Chaturvedi, Rakesh Pandey, Manoj Kumar Pandey, Pooja Pal and Pallavi Patel. Some members of the party were reportedly dissatisfied with the candidates, particularly Jaya Bachchan and Alok Ranjan. 

They believed that Bachchan and Ranjan did not align with Akhilesh Yadav's PDA (pichre, dalit aur alpasakhyank) pitch. Both Bachchan and Ranjan belonged to the Kayastha community. 

The Congress, on the other hand, has high hopes of securing three seats in Karnataka, where the BJP-Janata Dal Secular alliance has nominated a second candidate.

Resort politics has come into play with the Congress relocating all its MLAs to a hotel on Monday. In Himachal, the Congress is supporting its senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, against BJP's core committee member Harsh Mahajan.

The BJP is reportedly attempting to woo discontented Congress MLAs. The election is considered a prestige battle for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. Of the 56 Rajya Sabha seats across 15 states, 41 have been elected unopposed.

The remaining seats will be voted on from 9 am to 4 pm today, with counting commencing at 5 pm. The BJP currently holds 28 of the 56 seats, which will increase to at least 29 post-elections. In Uttar Pradesh, the INDIA bloc is expected to gain two seats as the SP is projected to increase its tally from one to three seats.