Rajya Sabha Elections 2022: After the victory of the BJP in 4 out of 5 state elections, the party is ready to get a majority in the Upper House. Biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha are to be held in March and June.
It's voting is to be held on 13 seats on March 31. It includes Assam (2), Himachal (1), Kerala (3), Nagaland (1), Tripura (1) and Punjab (5). The BJP currently has 97 members in the 245-member house.
Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma in the north-eastern state speaks of NDA winning both the seats, as the BJP nominated Pabitra Margherita along with its ally UPPL United Peoples Party-Liberal (UPPL) to Rwangwa Narzari.
Congress has made Ripun Bora its candidate. The seats of Rajya Sabha MPs Rani Nara and Ripun Bora will fall vacant on April 2.
The Congress needs 42 votes out of 126 MLAs from Assam to retain its Rajya Sabha seat. With the support of its 28 MLAs, AIUDF 15 MLAs, CPM 1 MLA, Congress claims it has the support of 44 MLAs. On the other hand, BJP claims that many opposition MLAs will vote for the candidate of their ally UPPL.
Himachal Pradesh: With 43 seats in the 68-seat Himachal Assembly, BJP's Rajya Sabha candidate - former Himachal Pradesh University (HPU) Vice-Chancellor Professor Sikander Kumar has been elected unopposed, as Congress did not field any candidate against him.
Kerala: With 3 seats, Congress has named its women's wing chief JB Mather as Rajya Sabha candidate, while ruling LDF nominated CPI(M) state committee member AA Rahim and CPI leader P Santosh Kumar.
The three MPs from Kerala whose term is set to end next month are AK Antony, MV Shreyams Kumar and Somprasad K. Since the LDF has 99 seats in the 140-seat assembly, the LDF is likely to win two seats, while the Congress will win alone.
Nagaland: India's opposition-less state has elected S Phangnon Konyak unopposed, making her the state's first woman MP in the Upper House. Konyak, who heads the state BJP women's wing, was the only candidate for the election. Naga People's Front's sitting lone MP KG Keene will retire on April 2.
Tripura: BJP has nominated its state president Dr Manik Saha and Left Front's senior CPI(M) leader Bhanu Lal Saha for the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state. With 40 out of 60 seats, the BJP is likely to win the lone Rajya Sabha seat. Sitting MP Jharna Das Baidya will retire on April 2.
Punjab: Buoyed by its thumping victory in the Punjab elections, where it has won 92 out of 117 seats. AAP nominated its Punjab in-charge Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi professor Sandeep Pathak, Lovely Professional University chancellor Ashok Mittal, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh and Ludhiana. Businessman Sanjeev Arora is its 5 nominees for the Rajya Sabha. All 5 have been elected unopposed.
How are the members of the Rajya Sabha elected?
Rajya Sabha i.e. 'Council of States' is a permanent house and it is not dissolved. A member who is elected for a full term serves for a term of six years. According to the proportional representation system, the representatives of each state and 2 union territories (UTs) are elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assembly through the single transferable vote.
In the case of a Union Territory, the Electoral College votes for the Rajya Sabha members. The Electoral College for the National Capital Territory of Delhi consists of elected members of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi, and the Puducherry Legislative Assembly for Puducherry.