Rajya Sabha polls on October 16 for 12 seats in UP, Uttarakhand, Bengal

The Election Commission has announced Rajya Sabha elections for 12 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal on October 16. Uttar Pradesh, with 10 seats up for election, is expected to witness a closely watched contest among major parties

New Delhi: The Election Commission on Tuesday announced elections to 12 Rajya Sabha seats from Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal on October 16, setting the stage for a keen contest in Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP is expected to retain eight of the 10 seats and the Samajwadi Party is likely to gain one.

The BJP’s overall strength in the Rajya Sabha is likely to increase by one, with the party expected to win the lone seat in West Bengal. The seat fell vacant after the resignation of actor Rukmini Mallick, popularly known as Koel, whom the Trinamool Congress had sent to the House before being ousted from power in the Assembly polls held earlier this year.

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In Uttar Pradesh, based on the present strength of parties in the Assembly, the BJP-led alliance is expected to retain eight seats, while the SP is likely to increase its tally to two.

The election could leave Mayawati’s BSP without representation in Parliament. The party has no Lok Sabha member and lost its lone Uttar Pradesh MLA, Uma Shankar Singh, following his death in August. The term of its only Rajya Sabha member, Ramji Gautam, ends in November.

Besides Gautam, the members from Uttar Pradesh whose terms are ending are Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, BJP leaders Arun Singh, Geeta Shakya, Neeraj Shekhar, Brijlal, B L Verma and Seema Dwivedi, and SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.

Puri’s continuation in the Union Cabinet hinges on whether the BJP nominates him again for another term.

The 10th seat falling vacant in Uttar Pradesh was held by former state deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma. It fell vacant earlier this month after he resigned from the Rajya Sabha following his appointment as Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The BSP managed to send Gautam to the Rajya Sabha in 2020, when the BJP fielded only eight candidates for 10 seats, enabling the BSP and the SP to each elect one member unopposed.

Gautam was elected unopposed after the nomination of an SP-backed Independent was rejected, prompting the SP to allege an understanding between the BJP and the BSP.

The BJP-led alliance has around 290 MLAs in Uttar Pradesh, while the SP-Congress combine has about 103. A candidate needs around 37 votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat.

The BJP can comfortably win seven seats, while the SP-Congress combine can secure two. For the final seat, the BJP is likely to start with around 31 votes against around 29 for the SP-Congress side, giving the ruling alliance an advantage.

In Uttarakhand, BJP Rajya Sabha member Naresh Bansal is retiring. The BJP, which is in power in the state and has a comfortable majority in the Assembly, is expected to retain the seat.

The notification for the elections will be issued on September 29. Nominations can be filed till October 6, with polling and counting scheduled for October 16, if required.