Rajya Sabha Elections 2020 LIVE Updates: As BJP Leaders Rush to Convince 'Kingmaker' Tribal Party to Poll, Gujarat CM Rupani Arrives to Cast His Vote

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. 

BJP leaders in Gujarat are trying to convince Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP). BTP is playing the role of kingmaker in the Rajya Sabha Polls. BTP has two votes. These two votes can prove to be a boost for the Congress party while the BJP needs one vote. At the moment, BTP has announced that it won't vote.

Gujarat CM Rupani Casts Vote | Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani arrives at the state Assembly to cast his vote. In Gujarat, the contest is likely to go down to the wire as both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress do not have absolute numbers in the assembly to get all their candidates win on their own. The BJP has fielded three candidates -- Abhay Bharadwaj, Ramila Bara and Narhari Amin -- for the four seats.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy casts his vote for the Rajya Sabha polls. The ruling YSR Congress is poised to win all the four seats given its formidable strength in the state assembly. This is the first time that an election is being conducted for Rajya Sabha seats from the state, post-bifurcation in 2014. 

BJP MLA from Gujarat Balram Thawani reaches Assembly to cast his vote. He had previously tested positive for coronavirus. The ECI said that it will be treating Balram Thawani and two others, who had earlier tested positive for Covid-19, as healthy individuals. They had received treatment for the viral infection and were discharged from the hospital. 

Amid Covid-19, Gujarat Govt Issues SOP for Rajya Sabha Polls | The Gujarat government's Health and Family Welfare Department has issued a special Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the MLAs who were hospitalised for testing positive for Covid-19, or were in-home/ institutional quarantine, for voting in the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday. The Rajya Sabha elections for four seats in Gujarat are scheduled on Friday. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the Election Commission to reschedule the dates of the elections, which were earlier scheduled to be held on March 26. The state government has issued an SOP for the MLAs who will vote for the Rajya Sabha polls.

In Jharkhand, BJP MLA Biranchi Narayan said that independent MLAs Saryu Rai and Amit Yadav extended their support and added that he hopes to receive the support of two other MLAs, news agency ANI reported. Voting is underway for 2 Rajya Sabha seats at the state Assembly in Ranchi.

Every Rajya Sabha MP has a tenure of six years and elections to one-third seats are held every two years. According to Section 154 of the Representation of the People Act 1951, a member chosen to fill…

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Casts Vote | “Reached Vidhan Sabha for #RajyaSabhaElections. All health protocols have been followed for the safety of all legislators. #Rajasthan,” Gehlot tweeted.

Reached Vidhan Sabha for #RajyaSabhaElections. All health protocols have been followed for the safety of all legislators.#Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/IxDIDMNZC5

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) June 19, 2020

Former MP CM Kamal Nath Casts Vote | “It is very clear that we will win one seat in the Rajya Sabha”: Former Chief Minister & Congress leader Kamal Nath said after casting his vote at the state Assembly in Bhopal. Voting is currently underway for three Rajya Sabha seats of the state.

It is very clear that we will win one seat in the #RajyaSabhaElection: Former Chief Minister & Congress leader Kamal Nath after casting his vote at the state Assembly in Bhopal.

Voting is currently underway for three Rajya Sabha seats of the state. https://t.co/mSJLIMQ0cD pic.twitter.com/DOHC37sC7o

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

Mock Voting Sessions Conducted | In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, mock election training sessions were held on Thursday. Yesterday, Jagdish Vishwakarma and Kishor Chauhan had taken part in the mock voting in Gujarat.

Election Commission Makes Separate SOP for Covid-19 Suspect MLAs| Separate routes and waiting areas for MLAs suspected of being Covid positive have been laid out. Election Commission to treat three BJP MLas -- Jagdish Panchal, Balram Thawani & Kishor Chauhan—who earlier tested positive for Covid-19, received treatment and were discharged from the hospitals as healthy individuals.

Seen here, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan casting his vote for the Rajya Sabha polls at the state Assembly in Bhopal.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan cast his vote for #RajyaSabhaElection at the state Assembly in Bhopal. pic.twitter.com/BB2l5tYGcF

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

BJP MLA from Matar, Kesari Sinh Solanki, being brought in an ambulance. Kesari Sinh was admitted to the hospital late last night after he complained of chest pain. The BJP MLA from Matar was allegedly in close touch with Congress party. The BJP subsequently got him admitted him in hospital last night after he complained of chest discomfort. He’s now he’s being brought in an ambulance.

For the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand, JMM president Shibu Soren, Congress candidate Shahzada Anwar and BJP state chief Deepak Prakash are in the fray. Meanwhile, the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) in Meghalaya has fielded W R Kharlukhi for the lone seat and he will be up against Kennedy Khyriem of the Congress.

Three buses, ferrying BJP MLAs, arrives at the legislative Assembly in Rajasthan's capital Jaipur ahead of the polling for Rajya Sabha elections today. In the state,  polling for three seats to be held, news agency ANI reports.

Rajasthan: Three buses, carrying BJP MLAs, reach state legislative assembly in Jaipur ahead of the polling for #RajyaSabhaElection today. In the state, polling for three seats to be held. pic.twitter.com/1lyvD51Bbt

— ANI (@ANI) June 19, 2020

BSP's Objection Rejected by Election Commission | The BSP had raised objections to the Commission over six of its MLAs joining the Congress in Rajasthan and being considered in the Congress list. This objection has been rejected by the Election Commission.

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 pandemic. 

Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress. For the three seats up for grabs, four candidates (two from Congress and as many from BJP) have filed nomination papers. The Congress has nominated K C Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi, while the BJP has fielded Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh Lakhawat. 

#NewsAlert - Elections for 19 Rajya Sabha seats spread across eight states will be held today with the contest in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan promising to be a close affair between the BJP and the Congress.

Take a look at this report by @_pallavighosh. pic.twitter.com/03WM1VkY2z

— CNNNews18 (@CNNnews18) June 19, 2020

Amin cut his teeth in a remarkable students’ movement, in fact, the first large-scale anti-corruption movement of Gujarat — the Navnirman Andolan of 1974.

BJP Candidate Narhari Amin Confident About Win |  BJP candidate Narhari Amin expressed confidence about winning the third seat from Gujarat and said his victory was decided on the basis of numbers. Amin claimed that besides the NCP, he will get two votes from BTP as well.

BJP Increases Police Vigil Outside MLA Quarters in Gujarat | In Gujarat, the state BJP has also increased police vigil outside the MLA quarters. The victory of the third candidate requires the support of 104 MLAs, if a single MLA's vote is cancelled, then a third seat is unlikely. It is reported that some BJP MLAs are allegedly in contact with the Congress party, after which heavy police deployment was seen outside the quarters.