New Delhi: The elections are currently underway for 16 seats of the Rajya Sabha, representing 4 states – namely Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka & Haryana. About 41 candidates have already been appointed to the Upper House unopposed.

The biennial elections for the House assumes significance as it will a direct bearing on the upcoming Presidential election in July.

A total of 57 seats for the Upper House are up for grabs, spread across 15 states. Of these, BJP has already pocketed 23 seats while Congress holds 8 of them and the rest divided between different parties.

The toughest battle for race to Rajya Sabha is expected in Opposition-ruled states including Rajasthan & Maharashtra. In both states, the ruling dispensation corralled their MLAs to private resorts facing poaching attempt by rival BJP.

Gehlot administration kept his MLAs confined in the resort for almost a week and also got internet suspended till 9 AM in the morning today.

Which party has the edge & the Numbers game

Uttar Pradesh is set to send largest number of 11 lawmakers to the Rajya sabha, followed by Maharashtra & Tamil Nadu with 6 members each.

Other states where RS elections are being held is Bihar (5), Andhra, Karnataka & Rajasthan (4 each), Madhya Pradesh & Odisha (3 each), Punjab, Haryana, Jharkhand, Ch’garh, telangana (2 each) and Uttarakhand (1 seat)
Maharashtra didn’t see election for the Rajya Sabha for almost 2 decades but this time, BJP & ruling MVA alliance are in for a face-off for 1 seat. In a jolt to MVA, its 2 MLAs Nawab Malik & Anil Deshmukh were also not allowed to vote.

Overall, the BJP is comfortably placed and is set to shore up its numbers in the Upper House, considerably after this round. It is the only party to have crossed 100 mark in the Upper House, the first one to do so after 1990.

How RS elections are held

Rajya Sabha or the Council of States has a total of 245 members. The tenure of its members is 1 year more than Lok Sabha MPs. Lok Sabha MPs are elected directly by the people via people’s participation. Unlike LS, the members of

Rajya Sabha are elected through a system of proportional representation. All elected MLAs cast their votes through a ballot paper instead of EVM machine.