Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani casting his vote at the Rajya Sabha elections on Friday, June 19, 2020.
Voting for the 19 Rajya Sabha seats, spread across eight states, is underway and counting of votes will commence from 5 pm. Among the states, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan are all set to see a close fight between the BJP and the Congress.
The voting is taking place for four seats each in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat, three each in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, two in Jharkhand, and one each in Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. Voting for 18 seats was deferred due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 12,237 lives in India. The polls were originally scheduled to be held on March 26.
Keeping in mind the coronavirus pandemic, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made separate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), including separate routes and waiting areas, for MLAs suspected to have Covid-19 arriving in the state for polling. The ECI has stationed paramedical teams at the polling centre. Masks, gloves and sanitisers will be made available at four-five places within the premises, including toilets, to be used by candidates, MLAs, polling staff and others present. The entire polling centre will also be sanitised before the process begins.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan with Union Ministers Prakash Javdekar, Narendra Singh Tomar, BSP MLA Ram Bai, Independent MLA Surendra Singh Shera during a meeting, ahead of Rajya Sabha election, at BJP state headquarters in Bhopal, Wednesday, June 17, 2020. (PTI Photo)(PTI17-06-2020_000270B)
Barring two of the opposition TDP, all other 173 MLAs of the Andhra Pradesh Assembly cast their votes on Friday to elect four members from the state to the Rajya Sabha in the biennial election. Telugu Desam Legislature Party deputy leader K Atchannaidu could not cast his vote as he's undergoing treatment in hospital under judicial remand following his arrest last week in the ESI scam, Legislature sources said. Another TDP member Anagani Satya Prasad did not come citing "home quarantine" while three of its rebel MLAs exercised their franchise towards the flag end of the polling process, which ended at 4 pm. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy was the first to vote when polling began at 9 am. From the TDP side, actor-legislator Nandamuri Balakrishna voted first. For the four vacant seats, the ruling YSR Congress fielded as many candidates as it could comfortably win, given its strength of 152 in the 175175-member House. The TDP, however, forced the election by fielding its candidate, though it is left with only 20 MLAs.
Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel on Friday expressed confidence in all three BJP candidates in Gujarat.
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. The polling for three Rajya Sabha seats in the state started at 9 am and got over at 4 pm. The counting of votes will begin at 5 pm. The Congress has nominated K C Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi for the polls, while the BJP has fielded Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh Lakhawat.