Rajya Sabha Polls today: INDIA bloc faces first electoral test in Uttar Pradesh. Here's why
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the principal Opposition Samajwadi Party, seemed to have enough members in the UP state assembly to elect seven and three Rajya Sabha MPs, respectively. However, the BJP forced a contest at the last moment by fielding its eighth candidate, thus necessitating an election. The eighth BJP candidate, Sanjay Seth, filed his nomination papers at 1:30 pm, just ahead of the 3 pm close of nominations on February 15.
Thus, the support from MLAs is crucial for both sides to secure the required number of votes. The election became even more interesting after the SP stitched up an alliance with the Congressin the state. Both sides, the BJP and SP-Congress, will aspire to get the requisite poll strength to get their candidates to sail through.
Given the existing strength of the UP assembly, each candidate requires the support of 37 MLAs. The SP, which has fielded three candidates - Jaya Bachchan, Ramjilal Suman and Alok Ranjan, requires the support of 111 MLAs. But, it has the support of 110, which include 108 of the SP and two of the Congress party.
Two of the 108 SP MLAs, Irfan Solanki and Rama Kant Yadav, are lodged in jail on criminal charges. Another MLA, Pallavi Patel, has announced that she won’t vote for the party, accusing party chief Akhilesh Yadav of ignoring its PDA (Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak) philosophy. Under these circumstances, the SP-Congress strength thus comes down to 107, four short of the required number.
The BJP-led NDA requires the support of 296 MLAs to get its eight candidates elected. The ruling camp has 277 MLAs on its side. SBSP’s Abbas Ansari, however, is in jail.
Read more on livemint.com
