NDA gains in Rajya Sabha polls, cross-voting, no-show MLAs crash Opposition hopes

THe oppositeness suffered setbacks in Odisha and Bihar during the Rajya Sabha polls on mon, as candidates backed by the subject popular confederation (NDA) benefited from cross-voting and lawmakers not showing up, while the contest in Haryana went down to the wire.Also read: 400 killed, Kabul hospital destroyed in ‘deadliest’ of incidents: What to know on Pak strikesIn all, 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 states were up for grabs. Anti-defection laws don’t apply to Upper House polls. In Odisha, the voting unfolded amid a series of twists, including cross-voting, allegations of horse trading, a brief disruption over a disputed ballot, and a tightly fought contest that was eventually decided by second-preference votes. In the end, the BJP won two seats, and an independent candidate backed by the party won a third, leaving the Biju Janata Dal with just one.Also read: After Venezuela takeover, Iran war, Trump now wants to 'take' Cuba: ‘Weakened nation right now’In Bihar, the NDA won all five seats on offer after four Opposition lawmakers, including three from the Congress and one from the Rashtriya Janata Dal, did not turn up to vote, pushing the contest into second-preference voting. Among the victors was chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose decision to transition to the Upper House has shaken up the state’s politics.In Haryana, where two seats were on offer, counting had not finished at the time of going to print. The BJP and Congress traded allegations, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to the Election Commission, alleging there were clear attempts to interfere with the integrity of the election.Also read: Haryana Rajya Sabha poll numbers explainedThe results will bring embarrassment to the Opposition, which was unable to match the BJP’s challenge in Odisha and Bihar. In both states, opposition parties had the numbers to get their nominees through but were done in by infighting and cross-voting. It also means that the NDA will have the upper hand in the Rajya Sabha for the remainder of its term on pushing through key items of its legislative agenda.In Odisha, where 30 first-preference votes were required to win a seat, BJP’s state chief Manmohan Samal and MP Sujeet Kumar were elected on the party’s official ticket. From the BJD, corporate executive-turned-politician Santrupt Misra was elected.For the fourth seat, former Union minister Dilip Ray, contesting as an independent with BJP support, defeated urologist Datteswar Hota, a joint candidate backed by the BJD, the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). “I am very happy and grateful to everyone who supported me in this victory, whether from the BJP, the BJD or the Congress. Some are calling it horse-trading, but it is not. It reflects the voters’ feelings. I will do my best for Odisha,” Ray said.In the first round of counting, Samal, Sujeet Kumar, and Misra claimed victory on the strength of first-preference votes, receiving 35, 35, and 31 votes respectively. Ray and Hota were tied with 23 votes each after the initial count, but 11 votes from BJD and Congress members took the BJP candidate’s number to 34Among the BJD MLAs who cross-voted were Chakramani Kanhar, Souvic Biswal, Naba Kishore Mallick, Subasini Jena, Devi Ranjan Tripathy and Ramakanta Bhoi, along with suspended lawmakers Sanatan Mahakud and Arabinda Mohapatra.Three Congress lawmakers, Dasarathi Gamang, Ramesh Jena and Sofia Firdous, also voted against the party line.BJD lawmaker Souvic Biswal said he voted for the candidate who had “the blessings of Biju Babu”, referring to former chief minister Biju Patnaik, and described the decision as “revenge” for the alleged humiliation faced by his father, former MLA Pravat Biswal.The voting process itself was briefly disrupted following an issue involving BJP lawmaker Upasna Mohapatra, who sought a second ballot due to overwriting. LOP Naveen Patnaik alleged that rules were violated.“The MLA made a mistake while casting her vote and should not have been issued another ballot paper. The polling officer violated rules by providing a second ballot paper and accepting her vote afterwards,” he said outside the assembly. Patnaik also accused the BJP of engineering defections through inducements.State Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das confirmed that three party lawmakers had cross-voted. “I had not expected that Ramesh Jena would engage in cross-voting. With this act, he has ended his dominance through Congress in Ganjam forever,” Das said.In Bihar, NDA candidates Nitish Kumar, BJP chief Nitin Nabin, Union minister Ram Nath Thakur, BJP leader Shivesh Kumar, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha chief Upendra Kushwaha all won.