Rajya Sabha election result: 4 JDS rebels set to join Congress in Karnataka

In the Rajya Sabha elections held to 58 seats, the BJP won 29, the Congress nine, Trinamool four, TRS and BJD three each, JD-U, TDP and RJD two each and SP, Shiv Sena, NCP and YSRC one each

Rajya Sabha election result: Avenging its defeat at the hands of SP-BSP combine in Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha constituencies, the BJP on Friday scored a major victory when its candidate defeated a BSP nominee for the 10th seat in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections in which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and actor Jaya Bachchan of the SP were re-elected. In all in the elections held for 25 seats on Friday, the BJP won 12, the Congress five, Trinamool Congress four, Telangana Rashtra Samiti three and the Samajwadi Party one.

Smarting under the loss of by-poll elections in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the BJP left no stone unturned to win the battle against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) when its candidate Anil Agarwal, a Ghaziabad-based businessman, defeated Mayawati's candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar in a cliffhanger of a contest that went to the wire.

Others elected from Karnataka were I. Hanumanthaiah and Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress and Rajeev Chandrashekar of the BJP.

West Bengal went on predicted lines as the ruling Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and while Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi backed by the Trinamool defeated CPI-M's Rabin Deb. The four Trinamool candidates are sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen.

Out of a total of 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were already declared elected unopposed on March 15. Of the 33, the BJP won 17. These included seven union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar. The Congress had won four, the Biju Janata Dal three, the RJD, JD-U and TDP two each and the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the YSR Congress one each.

BJP's winning spree in state Assembly polls have resulted in a steady rise in its numbers in the House, whose members are elected by assemblies, while the loss of power of the Congress in many states has led to a fall in its numerical strength.

In the elections held to 58 seats, the BJP won 29, the Congress nine, Trinamool four, TRS and BJD three each, JD-U, TDP and RJD two each and Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena, NCP and YSR Congress one each.

Here are the top 10 developments in the Rajya Sabha elections 2018

1) 4 JDS rebels set to join Congress

Ahead of assembly polls, the JD(S) today suffered a setback when four of its rebel MLAs resigned from the Karnataka Assembly, a day after cross voting in favour of Congress' Rajya Sabha candidates.

B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, R Akhanda Srinivasamurthy, N Chaluvaraya Swamy and Bheema Naik submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker K B Koliwad at his residence here.

The MLAs are likely to join Congress in a day or two, said sources close to them.

2) RajyaSabha election result 2018 in Uttar Pradesh - Cross-voting by BJP, SP, BSP makes the headline

While the BSP candidate got 33 votes - short by four - in the first preference votes against 22 of the BJP, the ruling party nominee was declared winner on the basis of second preference votes. The votes of SP MLA Nitin Agarwal and Anil Singh of the BSP, who cross voted in favour of the BJP, were declared invalid.

In Uttar Pradesh alone, the BJP won nine seats including those of Jaitley and Agarwal. Other winners were Ashok Bajpai, Vijay Pal Singh Tomar, Sakal Deep Rajbhar, Kanta Kardam, Anil Jain, G.V.L. Narasimha Rao and Harnath Singh Yadav. While the BSP cried use of money, muscle power and state machinery by the BJP to win the elections, it refused to blame the Samajwadi for defeat.

3) Yogi Adityanath calls SP 'opportunist'

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath blamed the BSP's loss on the Samajwadi Party's "opportunism" as it failed to transfer votes. In his attack on the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Chief Minister also cautioned the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), saying the results are a signal for Mayawati, the party supremo, whose candidate Bhimrao Ambedkar got defeated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Anil Agarwal in a close contest for the 10th seat. "The opportunistic face of SP has been once again exposed. It can take from others but can't give," Yogi told media persons after the BJP won nine out of the 10 seats.

Without taking the name of Mayawati, he said the election results are a "signal for some" and "they should be cautious". "Signals are enough for an intelligent person," he added.

4) Modi congratulates all the winners in the Rajya Sabha polls

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday congratulated all those who won the Rajya Sabha elections in six states.

"Congratulations to all those elected to the Rajya Sabha from various states and best wishes for their Parliamentary career," the Prime Minister tweeted.

The Prime Minister also hoped the elected parliamentarians effectively voice the aspirations of the people they will represent.

5) Karnataka Rajya Sabha election result

The other major battle was in the Congress-ruled Karnataka where the ruling party won three seats and one went to the BJP. While the Congress was sure of two seats on its own, it wrested the third in a fight with Janata Dal-Secular that complained irregularities. B M Farooq of the JD-S lost to G C Chandrasekhar of the Congress in the state.

Others elected from Karnataka were I. Hanumanthaiah and Syed Naseer Hussain of the Congress and Rajeev Chandrashekar of the BJP.

6) West Bengal Rajya Sabha poll result:

West Bengal went on predicted lines as the ruling Trinamool Congress bagged four seats and while Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi backed by the Trinamool defeated CPI-M's Rabin Deb.

All four Trinamool candidates - sitting Rajya Sabha member Nadimul Haque and first time nominees Subhasish Chakraborty, Abir Biswas and Santanu Sen -- emerged victorious in the vote count. Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, supported by the Trinamool, also won. The CPI-M's Rabin Deb, backed by the Left Front, lost.

According to election officials, Trinamool's Chakraborty secured the highest number of 54 votes. Haque and Biswas got 52 votes each and Sen 51. Singhvi garnered 47 votes. Deb managed to get 30 votes. The votes of two Trinamool lawmakers - Jakir Hossain and Mrigendra Nath Maiti - were rejected.

7) Rajya Sabha election result in Telangana

TRS candidates B Prakash, B Lingaiah Yadav and J Santosh Kumar were elected to the Rajya Sabha from Telangana in the election held to fill three vacancies from the state. The nominee of the main opposition Congress, P Balaram, lost the election. Prakash, Yadav and Santosh Kumar got 33, 32 and 32 votes respectively.

Balaram obtained 10 votes, official sources said.In the 119-member house, 117 were eligible voters as two Congress MLAs were expelled from the house recently.

BJP (5 MLAs), TDP (3) and CPI-M (1) abstained from voting. Thus the total number of votes was 108. Congress, whose strength was 17, alleged that seven of its MLAs voted for TRS. AIMIM (seven MLAs) supported the TRS.

8) Rajya Sabha election result in Chattisgarh

BJP leader Saroj Pandey has won the Rajya Sabha election from Chhattisgarh by defeating Congress' Lekhram Sahu.

Pandey said, "BJP will win in other states as well under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah."

Meanwhile, BJP Chhattisgarh took to Twitter to congratulate Pandey.

For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were unanimously elected on March 15. Seven Union Ministers, including Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar, were among them.

9) Kerala by-poll result

In the by-election held in Kerala, the Left Front-backed candidate M.P. Veerendra Kumar won by securing a huge margin against Congress candidate Babu Prasad. Kumar, who resigned from the Rajya Sabha after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joined hands with the BJP, contested the seat after shifting from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). The 80-year-old former Union Minister and newspaper baron secured 89 votes as against 40 that Babu Prasad got.

9) Out of a total of 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states were already declared elected unopposed on March 15. Of the 33, the BJP won 17. These included seven union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Ravi Shankar Prasad and Prakash Javadekar. The Congress had won four, the Biju Janata Dal three, the RJD, JD-U and TDP two each and the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the YSR Congress one each.

10) Siddaramaiah congratulates Karnataka Rajya Sabha election winners

Hearty congratulations to Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar, for winning the Elections to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. We are confident you will represent the aspirations of 6 crore Kannadigas and raise key issues on our behalf in the Upper House.