BJP supported Media baron Subhash Chandra today jumped into the Rajya Sabha poll fray in which along with him three Congress candidates Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Tiwari, and BJP’s official candidate G S Tiwari filed their nomination papers for Upper House’s 4 seats’ election slated for June 10 in Rajasthan.
Before filing his nomination on the last day of filing papers this afternoon, the Chairman of Essel Group, founder of Zee TV, and Haryana’s RS MP (term expiring in June) Chandra went to meet the former Chief Minister and BJP Vice President Vasundhara Raje and party functionaries at Rajasthan Legislative Assembly’s lobby. Supported by BJP, Chandra was accompanied by Deputy Leader of BJP in Rajasthan assembly R S Rathore, Vasudev Devnani, and Narpat Singh Rajvi (MLAs).
Raje and other senior BJP leaders were present and signatories to G S Tiwari’s nomination.
Whereas Congress candidates Surjewala, Wasnik, and Tiwari were escorted by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, and PCC President Govind Singh Dotasara from the party office to Vidhan Sabha.
Now there are four official candidates, three of Congress and one of BJP, and Chandra would contest it as an Independent for 4 RS seats.
In RS Biennial out of four seats the Congress will have a majority on two seats to win the biennials, BJP on one, and on the fourth seats there would be a tough poll battle as Chandra entered into the poll battle and would require 41 MLAs’ vote on first priority. Each contestant would have to have 41 first priority votes to win to be RS MP.
In the House of 200 MLAs, now the ruling Congress has 109 MLAs including the support of one RLD. Whereas BJP has a total of 71 MLAs, and RLP 3, CPM 2, BTP 2, and 13 Independents. If 11 Independents, as promised to the Chief Minister, go with Congress, the total tally of the ruling party would be 119.
BJP’s supported Independent Chandra would have to manage 11 MLAs’ votes to defeat one out of three Congress candidates. However, RashtriyaLoktantrik Party (RLP), a former NDA partner, has openly come out to support Chandra. BJP’s independent candidates anticipate major support from Independent MLAs who are 13 in number.
Last week eleven Independent MLAs who met the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot with their open support & vote for the Congress candidates in RS polls, the party is anticipating 41-41-41 MLAs vote each to three of its candidates.
One more Independent candidate from Jaipur Manoj Kumar, who had contested Lok Sabha poll-2019 also filed his nomination papers for the RS seat. He told the media that he has the support of at least 50 legislators in the Rajasthan Assembly.
Rajasthan will go for four Rajya Sabha biennial elections on June 10 as four sitting RS MPs (all BJP) would complete their term on July 4. BJP’s Om Prakash Mathur, K J Alphons, Ramkumar Verma, and Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur will retire on RS seats (from Rajasthan) for which the Election Commission of India has announced the biennial polls on 57 RS seats including four in Rajasthan.
At present out of 10 RS MPs in Rajasthan, the Congress and the BJP are having three representatives each in Rajya Sabha after the retirement of four MPs (all BJP). Congress’ three RS MPs are: Dr Manmohan Singh, Neeraj Dangi, K V Venugopal, and BJP’s sitting RS MPs are Bhupendra Yadav (Union Minister), Dr K L Meena, and Rajendra Gehlot.
It is pertinent to mention that the Congress has no representatives in 25 Lok Sabha seats in Rajasthan as BJP enjoys 24 BJP MPs and one RLP MP ( who later broke up its alliance with NDA on the three farmers’ bills dispute and involved himself with the Farmers Agitation last year)
https://www.thestatesman.com/india/congress-rs-choice-may-set-clock-back-bhupeshs-politics-sub-national-identity-1503076733.html