article main image
Nomination process ends, stage set for elections to 55 Rajya Sabha seatsBy Hindustan Times

Former Union minister and newly inducted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Jyotiraditya Scindia was among candidates who filed their nomination papers on Friday for the 55 Rajya Sabha seats to which elections will take place on March 26. Friday was the last day for filing of nominations, Scindia is in fray from Madhya Pradesh, his home state.

Other prominent leaders to file their nominations were Congress leaders K C Venugopal from Rajasthan and Deepender Hooda from Haryana; BJP's Vivek Thakur, son of former union minister CP Thakur, from Bihar; and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha patriarch Shibu Soren from Jharkhand.

In Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar , Union minister and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ally Ramdas Athawale and Congress leader Rajiv Satav also filed their nominations.

In Madhya Pradesh, apart from Scindia, Sumer Singh Solanki and Ranjana Baghel filed their nomination papers as BJP candidates. Congress candidate Phool Singh Baraiya too filed his papers. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh did so on Thursday.

Although Scindia and Singh are likely to get elected on first preference votes, the third seat will see a contest between Baraiya and Solanki. Baghel is a covering candidate for Scindia and Solanki, just in case the nomination papers of one of the two are rejected .

Madhya Pradesh's returning officer AP Singh said, "The scrutiny of nomination papers (for MP) will be done by March 15 while nomination papers can be withdrawn by March 16."

Scindia filed his nomination papers two days after joining the BJP, ending his 18-year association with the Congress. His departure has plunged the Congress government of Madha Pradesh into a crisis, with 22 of his purported followers seeking to resign from the state legislature.

In Rajasthan, the Congress named its general secretary K C Venugopal and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) general secretary Neeraj Dangi as Rajya Sabha candidates. The BJP had named Rajendra Gehlot.

An interesting contest is in the works in Gujarat, with a contest likely for a fourth seat. Going by the numbers in the state assembly, the BJP could win two seats and the Congress one. The three candidates likely to win are BJP's Abhay Bharadwaj and Ramilaben Bara and the Congress's Bharatsinh Solank.For the fourth seat, the contest would be between BJP-backed Narhari Amin and Solanki.

In Jharkhand, Soren is set to sail through. Both the BJP and the JMM-led ruling alliance have claimed they have the numbers to win the second seat. The BJP is all set to get the support of two All Jharkhand Students Union Party legislators. The Congress has fielded Shahzada Anwar against the BJP's Deepak Prakash. Anwar is a long-time Congress worker and has unsuccessfully contested the Ramgarh assembly seat twice in the past.

In West Bengal nomination of an Independent candidate backed by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) had added a twist to the elections to five seats, as the sixth nomination is likely to result in a close contest.

For these five seats, TMC has fielded four candidates and the Congress has backed the Left's Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya. Former TMC legislator Dinesh Bajaj said he will be filing his nomination papers as an independent candidate. This will make Bhattacharya's election tough. In Bihar, two candidates each of the RJD and JD (U) and one of BJP have filed nomination papers and all five are likely to be elected unopposed. RJD fielded Prem Chandra Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, the JDU nominated Harivansh and sitting MP Ram Nath Thakur, while the BJP picked Vivek Thakur.

In Tamil Nadu, the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are expected to win three seats each and in Telangana, the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi is set to win the two seats. In Andhra Pradesh, the rulig YSR Congress Party is set to win all four seats. In Haryana, BJP's Ram Chandra Jangra, Congress's Hooda and the party's national vice-president Dushyant Kumar Gautam are set to enter the Rajya Sabha.

In Assam, the opposition Congress and All India United Democratic Front have fielded journalist-cum-anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act activist Ajit Bhuyan and the NDA has fielded Biswajit Daimary of the Bodoland Peoples' Front and Bhubaneshwar Kalita of the BJP. All three are likely to win without a contest.

(With inputs from regional bureaus)