Rajya Sabha elections 2026 LIVE: Counting of votes to start after 5 pm for 37 seats; Patnaik alleges foul play

RAjya Sabha elections 2026 unrecorded updates: On the daytime of the Rajya Sabha elections to take 37 seats crossways 10 states, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) chief and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly (LoP), Naveen Patnaik alleged irregularities during voting. The former Odisha CM claimed that election norms were violated after a legislator was issued a second ballot paper. Speaking to ANI, Naveen Patnaik said that the MLA from the Brahmagiri Assembly constituency had made an error while casting her vote. Patnaik alleged that the polling officer accepted the vote despite the mistake and subsequently issued a second ballot paper, which he claimed was against election rulesAs far as Bihar polling was concerned, a total of 176 MLAs from NDA had voted in the Rajya Sabha elections so far while 37 from Mahagathbandhan had voted in the polls, which began at 9 am today. The counting will be taking place after the conclusion of the voting, at 5 pm.Ahead of the elections, fearing cross voting, some of Haryana's Congress MPs were shifted to Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh.The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.Out of these, 26 candidates have already secured victory unopposed. Voting will now take place for the remaining 11 seats, including five from Bihar, four from Odisha, and two from Haryana.Of the 26, BJP secured seven, Congress five, the Trinamool Congress four, the DMK three, and Shiv Sena, RPI(A), NCP, NCP(SP), AIADMK, PMK, and UPPL one each. Notable names among the winners include Sharad Pawar, Abhishek Singhvi, Tiruchi Siva, and Vinod Tawade.Focus on Nitish KumarAll eyes will be on Bihar chief inister Nitish Kumar, who earlier, announced that he would be heading to the Upper House and filed his nomination for the same also in presence of Amit Shah, India's home minister.Nitin promised Bihar people that his relationship with them will not end post him quitting the CM position. He wrote on his X account, “I seek to become a member of the Rajya Sabha in the elections being held this time. I want to assure you with complete honesty that my relationship with you will continue in the future as well, and my resolve to work together with you to build a developed Bihar will remain steadfast. The new government that will be formed will have my full cooperation and guidance.”In this election, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is aiming to further strengthen its position in the Rajya Sabha. The NDA, which governs six of the 10 states going to the polls, currently holds 134 seats in the 234-member House and is expected to increase its tally.The opposition INDIA bloc, which is in power in four of the states voting today, currently has 80 members in the Upper House.