Rajya Sabha Elections 2020 LIVE Updates: Covid-19 Positive MLA Votes in PPE Kit as Voting Ends in MP

Prominent Leaders to Enter RS for 1st Time | According to an analysis by an official of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, prominent leaders to enter the Rajya Sabha for the first time include Jyotiraditya Scindia, Mallikarjun Kharge, M. Tambi Durai (former Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha), KC Venugopal (former Lok Sabha Member) and KR Suresh Reddy (Former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of composite Andhra Pradesh State).

BJP Files Police Complaint against Congress MLA | The BJP has filed a police complaint against Congress MLA Wajib Ali, alleging that he had flouted the guidelines in place for checking the spread of the novel coronavirus. The party complained that Ali had returned from Australia one day ago and did not undergo the mandatory 14 days in quarantine. He instead, came to cast his vote and placed the lives of other legislators in jeopardy.

Amid Political Turmoil, Here's Who Voted in Manipur | Given the changing political equations in Manipur, polling for the only Rajya Sabha seat was undertaken amid tight security. Three BJP MLAs who have resigned did not cast their votes. Four NPP ministers who had withdrawn their support, have, however, exercised their franchise. Lone AITC MLA, who has also pulled out of the ruling dispensation, skipped the polling process. Three Congress defectors  were not allowed to cast their votes, as cases are pending against them. One MLA who was disqualified recently was also barred from voting. 

'Collective Experience on RS Members will Drop by 63 Terms' | According to an analysis by a senior official in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat's research division, in the elections for 61 vacancies in Rajya Sabha that conclude today, 43 first timers are set to enter the Upper House, accounting for 72% of the vacancies being filled up. With only 12 retiring members being re-elected and another 7 members with past experience of the Upper House returning to the House, the collective experience of the Members of Rajya Sabha will drop by as many as 63 terms.

Sachin Pilot Confident of Congress' Victory in Rajasthan | The ruling Congress in Rajasthan on Friday expressed confidence that the party will win the Rajya Sabha polls. Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot claimed that efforts were made to "create confusion" and spread rumour, but the candidates nominated by the AICC are going to win. "Both of our party candidates are going to win and I want to wish them in advance for their victory," he said.

First Preference Voting Ends in Gujarat | The first preference voting for four Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat has ended. After the voting, the victory of three candidates -- two of the BJP and one from the Congress -- is being considered as confirmed. However, the outcome in one seat still hangs in the balance. For the last and fourth seat, the second preference voting will be held for the BJP's Narhari Amin and the Congress' Bharatsinh Solanki.

2 TDP MLAs Absent from Voting in Andhra | Two TDP MLAs were absent for Rajya Sabha elections in Andhra Pradesh.  K. Atchannaidu, who was arrested recently by the Anti-corruption Bureau in the ESI scam, and Anagani Satya Prasad, who said he was in self quarantine over Covid-19 threat, did not turn up for voting.

Australia-returned Cong MLA Casts Vote in PPE Gear | In Rajasthan, the BJP objected to Congress MLA Wajib Ali casting his vote instead of staying in home quarantine as he had returned from Australia just a day ago. Ali had taken the ballot paper to cast his vote when an election officer stopped him and allowed him to cast his vote only after he had worn a PPE kit.

BTP Refuses to Vote | The BTP has refused to vote in Gujarat. The BJP and Congress have repeatedly tried to convince them, but  Chhotubhai Vasava and Mahesh Vasava have outright refused to vote. Moreover, the BJP has claimed that it no longer needs support.

Voting in Jharkhand Underway with Safety Measures | With precautionary measures in place owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, polling was underway for two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand, where three candidates are in the fray, including ruling JMM founder and former chief minister Shibu Soren. Polling began at 9 am and will continue till 4 pm, with the Election Commission having made elaborate arrangements to ensure safety of all.

Voting Ends in Madhya Pradesh | Voting for three vacant Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh concluded on Friday afternoon after all the 206 MLAs, including a Congress legislator who has tested COVID-19 positive, cast their votes. Voting began at 9 am in the state assembly complex here and ended around 1.15 pm, an assembly official said. The Congress legislator, who is a COVID-19 patient, was the last one to cast his ballot wearing a PPE suit, PTI reported. He came to the assembly complex in an ambulance, the official said. Both the parties- the BJP and the Congress- had fielded two candidates each for the three seats of the Upper House of Parliament.

TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu casts his vote for Rajya Sabha elections in Amaravati.

Amaravati: TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu casts his vote for Rajya Sabha elections. There are four Rajya Sabha seats in the state. pic.twitter.com/9tupJnqRTF

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

The votes of the 54 MLAs who were in the bus with Kamal Nath are needed to make party veteran Digvijaya Singh victorious in the upper house elections as the Congress’ first preference candidate.

NCP MLA Kandhal Jadeja from Gujarat, while on his way to cast his vote said, "Voting has been done according to the party line." BJP has, however, claimed that Jadeja voted for the BJP candidate. Notably, Jadeja was also present at a meeting of BJP MLAs held yesterday on mock voting.

‘Cong Approached BJP MLAs’: Gujarat CM Rupani | Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani alleged that the Congress had approached the BJP MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls but said that their tactics did not succeed. CM Rupani expressed confidence that all three candidates of the BJP would win. 

The premises of the state legislative Assembly in Bhopal being sanitised after Congress MLA, who had tested positive for coronavirus and had come here to cast his vote, left.

Madhya Pradesh: State legislative assembly premises in Bhopal being sanitised after Congress MLA, who had tested positive for #COVID19 and had come here to cast his vote, left. Voting is currently underway for three Rajya Sabha seats of the state. #RajyaSabhaElection pic.twitter.com/pQhI4GUk1v

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

A Congress MLA from Madhya Pradesh, who had tested positive for coronavirus, arrives at the state legislative Assembly in Bhopal to cast his vote. Voting is currently underway for three Rajya Sabha seats of the state.

Originally the elections were to take place on March 26 for 55 Upper House seats, but 37 candidates have already been elected without a contest. The EC had deferred the March 26 Rajya Sabha elections citing the threat of the novel coronavirus.

‘We Stand United’: Meghalaya CM Sangma | “MLAs of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) are united and we are very sure to win lone Rajya Sabha seat," Meghalaya CM and National People's Party (NPP) Chief Conrad K Sangma told news agency ANI after casting his vote at state Assembly. MDA has fielded NPP leader WR Kharlukhi as its candidate.

MLAs of Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) are united & we are very sure to win lone Rajya Sabha seat: Meghalaya CM & National People's Party (NPP) Chief Conrad K Sangma after casting his vote at state Assembly.

MDA has fielded NPP leader WR Kharlukhi as its candidate. https://t.co/xEV3CBYlR5 pic.twitter.com/nTEtM1A9xH

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

Seen here, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh arrives at the state Assembly to cast his vote for one seat of Rajya Sabha.

Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh arrives at the state Assembly to cast his vote for one seat of Rajya Sabha. pic.twitter.com/1n1vz4Gf2d

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

Cong MLA in Bhopal to Cast Vote in PPE Kit | Bhopal Congress MLA Kunal Chaudhary will arrive at the Central Hall of the state Assembly to vote at 1:30 pm. Chaudhary had earlier tested positive for Covid-19.  He will be wearing a PPE kit and reach the state Assembly in an ambulance. He will cast his vote after all legislators have voted. After the MLA tested positive for Covid-19, the State Secretariat discussed the issue with the Election Commission of India. Chaudhary was subsequently granted permission to vote in PPE kit.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat, Murali Krishna, has issued certain measures to be taken at the polling centre in the state Assembly building, located in the State Secretariat Complex here.

Gujarat RS polls: 2 BTP MLAs Decide Not to Vote over Their Demands | Just before the polling for four Rajya Seats in Gujarat began on Friday morning, two Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) MLAs said that they would not cast their votes until they are given a written assurance about the welfare of tribals, migrants and Dalits. Votes of BTP chief Chhotu Vasava and his son Mahesh Vasava are crucial for both the BJP and the Congress in this election. "We will not give our votes unless and until we get a written assurance. We are an independent party, which keeps distance from both the BJP and the Congress," Mahesh Vasava told reporters.

Scindia, Digvijaya Set to Enter Rajya Sabha from MP | BJP candidates Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki, and senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Thursday looked set to sail through on the eve of  Rajya Sabha election to three seats in Madhya Pradesh. The Congresss other nominee Phool Singh Baraiya, a Dalit leader, however, stands a very slim chance of making it to the upper house of Parliament in the election on Friday. The BJP has enough MLAs to get elected its two candidates, whereas the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) has asked 54 of its 92 MLAs to cast their first preference vote for Digvijaya.

RECAP | Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states are underway with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress. Voting for 18 seats were deferred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Later the Election Commission announced polls for fours seats in Karnataka and one seat each in Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh. Of the 19 seats where polling will be held, four each are from Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each from Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two from Jharkhand, and one each from Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya.

Manipur Situation Won’t Have Impact in Meghalaya: Sangma | Meghalaya Chief Minister and National Peoples Party (NPP) president Conrad K Sangma on Thursday said the political situation in Manipur will not have any impact in Meghalaya. Four NPP MLAs, who were all ministers in the BJP-led coalition government led by N Biren Singh in Manipur, resigned from the cabinet on Wednesday and have pledged support to the Congress. "The situation that is unfolding in Manipur has to do a lot with the leadership, it is more of an individual-centric issue and it will not have any impact in Meghalaya," Sangma told reporters.

Voting began in Meghalaya at 9 am for the lone Rajya sabha seat.  There is a close contest between the Opposition and ruling party candidate. The ruling MDA has fielded Dr WR Kharlukhi while the Opposition has fielded Kennedy Khyriem as its candidate.

In Meghalaya, voting is underway for one seat of Rajya Sabha, at the state Assembly in Shillong.

Meghalaya: Voting is underway for one seat of Rajya Sabha, at the state Assembly in Shillong. pic.twitter.com/t3WCoHRfYt

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

Thermal Screening of MLAs in Rajasthan | In order to ensure that the MLAs who arrive at the Rajasthan Assembly to cast their votes for the Rajya Sabha polls don’t contract Covid-19, a contactless paddle hand sanitiser machine has been installed at the gate and thermal screening of the MLAs is being done.

In Rajasthan, the buses in which the MLAs are being brought from the hotel to the state Assembly for voting in the Rajya Sabha polls are being thoroughly sanitised. Similarly, the cars of MLAs are also being sanitised. These vehicles are being given permission to enter the state Assembly only after they have undergone sanitisation.