Rajya Sabha elections 2024 Results Highlights: BJP wins 8 seats in UP, Samajwadi Party wins 2; 7 SP MLAs cross vote

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief whip Manoj Pandey on Tuesday resigned from his post amid the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh. His resignation comes a day after he skipped a meeting called by party chief Akhilesh Yadav. Read more

On speculations of cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha elections, Congress leader and Karnataka minister Ramalinga Reddy in Bengaluru said, “All our three candidates will win by clear majority. There will be no cross-voting. 3 Congress and 1 BJP candidate will be there. We have a clear majority. I don’t know what Janardhana Reddy will do, he might support Congress.”

On Samajwadi Party (SP) MLA Manoj Kumar Pandey’s resignation as Chief Whip, UP Minister Dayashankar Singh said, “Manoj Pandey has always been a supporter of Sanatana Dharma. He has always been giving statements regarding the same. He wanted everyone to visit Ayodhya and have a darshan. This is the reason he is showing faith in PM Modi’s leadership and is taking such a decision…”

Congress MLAs arrived at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru to cast their votes in the Rajya Sabha elections on Tuesday morning.

The ruling Congress had shifted all its MLAs to a hotel amid apprehensions of cross-voting ahead of the biennial election to fill four vacancies. Five candidates — Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP) and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)) — are in the fray. All parties have issued whips to the MLAs, the voters in Tuesday’s poll.

Amid the ongoing polling for Rajya Sabha elections, 64 out of the 68 legislators have cast their votes in Himachal Pradesh till now.

In Karnataka, the ruling Congress had shifted all its MLAs to a hotel ahead of the biennial election to fill four vacancies. Five candidates — Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP) and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)) — are in the fray. All parties have issued whips to the MLAs, who are the voters in Tuesday’s poll, amid apprehensions of cross-voting.

“Things like money, power, authority, ED, I-T, and CBI, nothing will work. All three of our candidates will emerge victorious. BJP and JD(S) will cut a sorry figure,” Congress leader Rizwan Arshad said.

On Rajya Sabha elections, Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief OP Rajbhar said, “The eight candidates from the BJP are going to win. Raja Bhaiya and all our allies are in support of the BJP. Samajwadi Party leaders are openly agreeing to vote for BJP. There will be cross-voting from the Samajwadi Party. They will support NDA, 100 per cent there will be cross-voting..”

As the elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh are underway, Samajwadi Party MLA and leader Manoj Kumar Pandey resigned from the post of Chief Whip on Tuesday.

Amid speculation of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday expected to win three seats.

In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has put up eight candidates and the SP has fielded three candidates for the 10 seats at stake. As per the numbers in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP is guaranteed to win seven seats while the SP is likely to win three seats. However, there is speculation that several MLAs could cross-vote. (ANI)

Ahead of the Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls, NDA candidate Kupendra Reddy said, “Most probably cross voting will happen…If we threatened someone or asked for votes, they (Congress) should have complained to the Election Commission. We did not ask for votes from anybody…”

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath cast his vote at a polling station in Lucknow for the Rajya Sabha elections. 10 seats are up for grabs in UP.

The voting began at 9 am for 15 seats across Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.