E-Paper
Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh: BJP, SP keep cards close to their chest over extra candidates
The Rajya Sabha contest in Uttar Pradesh has entered a crucial competitive phase with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) keeping their cards close to their chest, watching each other and waiting to see the other’s next move before revealing their own strategy for fielding additional candidates
Prefer HTon Google
The Rajya Sabha contest in Uttar Pradesh has entered a crucial competitive phase with both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) keeping their cards close to their chest, watching each other and waiting to see the other’s next move before revealing their own strategy for fielding additional candidates.
With nominations closing on October 6 and voting scheduled for October 16, the next 48 hours are expected to be vital.
The SP has already announced two candidates —party veteran Ram Gopal Yadav and Reliance Industries Group president Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani, who are set to comfortably get elected based on the party’s numerical strength in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.
The party, however, is weighing the possibility of putting up a third candidate, setting the stage for a direct contest with the BJP for the remaining seat.
According to sources, the BJP will announce its Rajya Sabha candidates on Monday, but it is not clear whether it will announce eight or nine candidates.
“The BJP will announce RS candidates on Monday. As of now, both the BJP and the SP are watching each other’s move with regard to fielding the 11th candidate,” a minister in the UP government said.
The House arithmetic makes the SP’s gamble relatively easier. The SP-Congress block has 100 plus effective votes against the 37 first-preference votes required for one Rajya Sabha seat, leaving it with a sizable surplus after securing two seats. The SP is, therefore, believed to have made up its mind to field the third candidate, hoping to get him elected by the dint of possible cross-voting from NDA MLAs. SBSP president and minister OP Rajbhar has acknowledged that two of his party’s MLAs, Abbas Ansari and Jagdish Narayan Rai, are likely to vote for the SP. There is also murmur that one or two Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MLAs may also cross-vote in favour of the SP.
The BJP-led NDA, on the other hand, has enough numbers to secure seven seats comfortably and is seeking to get the eighth candidate elected through possible cross-voting. It is likely to fall short of at least two votes to get the eighth candidate elected.
The possibility of cross-voting has made the contest particularly significant ahead of the 2027 assembly elections. A third SP candidate would need to get votes beyond the party’s own alliance, while the BJP would also have to guard against possible cross-voting within the ruling coalition. Sources said the fear of cross-voting by their MLAs was bothering both camps.
