Voting is underway for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across seven states. The contests in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are expected to be close as the BJP and the Congress are vying for the highest number of seats.
States, where the elections are to be held, are Andhra Pradesh (4 seats), Gujarat (4 seats), Jharkhand (2 seats), Madhya Pradesh (3 seats), Manipur (1 seat), Meghalaya (1 seat) and Rajasthan (3 seats).
The election in Manipur is also likely to be interesting following the resignation of three BJP MLAs and six coalition members quitting the BJP-led government. The BJP has fielded Leisemba Sanajaoba while the Congress nominee is T Mangi Babu.
In Gujarat, the BJP has fielded three candidates while the Congress has nominated two candidates for four seats. Neither the ruling BJP nor the opposition Congress has absolute numbers in the assembly to get all their candidates to win on their own.
The contest in Madhya Pradesh also became interesting after several Congress MLAs quit the party and joined the BJP with Jyotiraditya Scindia in March, bringing down the Kamal Nath government.
Both the BJP and the Congress have fielded two candidates each for the three seats in Madhya Pradesh. While both will easily win one seat each, the fight will be for the third seat.
Similarly in Rajasthan, both the parties have fielded two candidates each for the three seats up for grabs. The ruling Congress, however, has the upper hand with the support of independent MLAs.
While 55 seats fell vacant in April due to the end of the term of the Rajya Sabha members, 37 seats from 10 states were filled in uncontested.
The biennial elections for 19 seats from the states of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Rajasthan were to be conducted on March 26 but were postponed due to nationwide lockdown announced on March 24. The lockdown imposed on March 25 was further extended on April 14, May 3 and May 17.
Votes will be polled till 04:00 pm and counting will be done from 5 pm onwards. The results are to be declared by June 22, the poll body said.