Rajya Sabha polls: voting underway for 16 seats in four states

Polling for 16 Rajya Sabha seats in four states is underway on Friday amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading by rival parties which have corralled their MLAs in hotels and scenic resorts.

The Election Commission has appointed special observers and ordered videography of the entire exercise.

Polling started at 9 am and will continue till 4 pm. The counting of votes will take place at 5 pm.

Prominent among those whose electoral fate will be decided are Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh and Mukul Wasnik, and Shiv Sena's ubiquitous face Sanjay Raut. All these leaders are expected to win without a hiccup.

Bienniel elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently and all 41 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were declared elected unopposed last Friday.

However, elections will be held for 16 seats of Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Friday as the number of candidates exceeds the seats going to the polls.

Arch rivals BJP and Congress have corralled their MLAs in hotels and resorts lest they should be poached, treating them to generous hospitality.

After more than two decades, Maharashtra will witness a contest in the Rajya Sabha polls as there are seven candidates in the fray for six seats.