Guwahati: The Bharatiya Janata Party won three of the four states where elections for 16 Rajya Sabha seats were held (June 10) on Friday. In Rajasthan, the Congress kept three seats, but lost one in Haryana. The ruling alliance in Maharashtra has taken a hit.
HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular), which has its headquarters in Karnataka, did not win a single seat from the state today. Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaggesh, and Lehar Singh Siroya of the BJP won three of the four seats, while Jairam Ramesh of the Congress won the fourth.
There was late-night drama in Haryana, which culminated in Congress heartbreak. The Congress had to delete a tweet claiming Ajay Maken had won after recounting revealed that BJP-backed media baron Kartikeya Shamra had won.
The Congress won three of the four Rajya Sabha seats it ran for in Rajasthan. The BJP has won one seat. A closely monitored election was held on 16 seats across four states, involving cross-voting and defections.
At least 41 candidates have been elected without opposition. The election for the Upper House will be critical in light of the upcoming Presidential election on July 18.