The ruling BJP is all set to gain appreciably in the Rajya Sabha with elections for 58 outgoing members to be held on March 23. Given its massive win in Uttar Pradesh and dominant presence in several states, the BJP's tally is expected to swell by about a dozen seats to 70 in the 245-member House.
Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of retiring members at 10, followed by Maharashtra and Bihar (6), Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal (5), Gujarat and Karnataka (4), Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Rajasthan (3), Jharkhand (2), and Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand (1).
The BJP announced on Wednesday a list of 8 candidates: Arun Jaitley from UP, Thawar Chand Gehlot and Dharmendra Pradhan from Madhya Pradesh, Mansukh L Mandaviya and Purshottam Rupala from Gujarat, JP Nadda from Himachal Pradesh, Ravi Shankar Prasad from Bihar and Bhupendra Yadav from Rajasthan. Because of a give-and-take arithmetic, there is expected to be a keen tussle for some seats in UP, Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal. A unity among the Opposition parties can help them to wrest a few seats.
The last date of nominations is March 12 and last date of withdrawal is March 15. The counting of votes shall be done on March 23, the day of voting itself.
