Amid cross-voting, National Democratic Alliance-supported Independent candidate Parimal Nathwani on Thursday won one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in Jharkhand, defeating the Congress's Pranav Jha, an official said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's son, Nishant Kumar, is set to enter politics, with a formal announcement expected from the JD(U). Party leaders express enthusiasm and anticipate a significant role for Nishant within the party.
For several months, there has been speculation among political circles in Amaravati that Priti Adani was most likely to be given one of the four Rajya Sabha seats on behalf of the ruling YSRC.
According to sources, TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has zeroed in on the name of his brother-in-law and actor Harikrishna for a Rajya Sabha seat that the party can win on the basis of its strength in the present legislative assembly, which constitutes the electoral college for the Rajya Sabha elections. He is expected to file his nomination papers on March 14.
Stating that it was a "conscious" decision to quit electoral politics, Union Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar on Friday filed his nomination papers for the biennial Rajya Sabha polls scheduled to be held on February 7.
A Congress spokesperson, quoted in media reports, summed up the party's thinking by saying, 'Whenever BJP is in trouble on the ground, a new 'apolitical' or 'alternative' party appears with the same ideology and the same backers.'
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will travel to Guwahati to file his nomination papers for his fifth term in the Rajya Sabha on May 15. The election has been scheduled for May 30.
Trinamool Congress's (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro has tendered his resignation from the Upper House of Parliament, party sources said on Tuesday.
Be it Assam, Haryana or Delhi, the Congress is facing one crisis after another regarding its Rajya Sabha nominations, reports Renu Mittal.
The Aam Aadmi Party has nominated former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Lovely Professional University founder Ashok Mittal, AAP MLA Raghav Chadha, IIT Delhi faculty Sandeep Pathak and industrialist Sanjeev Arora for the March 31 Rajya Sabha polls.
Dinesh Trivedi's experience as a businessperson and his fluency in Bengali are expected to be crucial in strengthening India-Bangladesh relations, particularly in attracting Indian investments to Dhaka.
In the throes of a financial crisis, the state's ruling Congress government has little to be triumphant about as Assembly elections approach next year, points out Aditi Phadnis.
Speculation is rife in Bihar about Chief Minister Nitish Kumar potentially moving to the Rajya Sabha, leading to discussions about a possible BJP chief minister and a role for Kumar's son, Nishant. Senior BJP leaders have dismissed the rumours.
Siddaramaiah met Rahul Gandhi to discuss his future role within the Congress party after resigning as Chief Minister of Karnataka. The meeting addressed his potential future roles and the formation of the new Karnataka government.
P Chidambaram and Rajeev Shukla of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party's Sumitra Valmiki and Kavita Patidar, former Congress leader Kapil Sibal, Rashtriya Janata Dal's Misa Bharti and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal were among the 41 winners declared elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha.
Karnataka Legislative Assembly Secretary M K Vishalakshi, who is the returning officer for the Rajya Sabha polls, declared the 'unanimous election' of Gowda and Kharge from the Janta Dal-Secular and the Congress respectively, and BJP's Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti, with no extra candidate in the fray.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance in Maharashtra is facing internal conflict over the allocation of a winnable Rajya Sabha seat, with the Congress staking its claim against the Shiv Sena (UBT). Discussions are ongoing to reach a consensus before the nomination deadline.
All 5 candidates, three from Bihar's ruling Janata Dal-United and two from the opposition, Bharatiya Janata Party, were on Friday elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from the state.
A complaint has been filed against Rajya Sabha member Anurag Sharma, alleging concealment of property details and violation of election rules during the nomination process.
The Congress party has announced its support for Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar as the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra.
The announcement came on a day that marks the third anniversary of the Naveen Patnaik-led government's fifth tenure in the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party nominee S Selvaganapathy was declared elected unopposed to the lone seat in Rajya Sabha from Puducherry, the first time the saffron party has got representation in the Upper House from the Union Territory, while Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's two nominees, Kanimozhi N V N Somu and K R N Rajeshkumar, were elected without contest from Tamil Nadu.
Scinida quit the Congress on Tuesday. He is an influential leader of Madhya Pradesh where 22 Congress MLAs, most of whom loyal to him, have resigned from the assembly in a bid to topple the Kamal Nath-led government.
As polling begins on Friday for the remaining 25 Rajya Sabha seats in six states, here's a list of some of the bigwigs who are seeking to be elected to the Upper House of Parliament.
The BJP has announced its candidates for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections across multiple states, including Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, and Haryana.
Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief J P Nadda and new party entrant Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan were among the 41 candidates elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha on Tuesday while Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh will witness polling on February 27.
Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and yesteryear actress Rekha are among four eminent personalities recommended for nomination as members of the Rajya Sabha. The 39-year-old Tendulkar and Rekha will become Members of Parliament under a provision of the constitution that allows the President to nominate 12 members to the Upper House.
The Rajya Sabha elections saw several candidates elected unopposed, including Sharad Pawar and Ramdas Athawale, while Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana prepare for contested elections.
Even though MLAs are required to show their ballot to respective party whips before casting their vote, all parties have ensured their MLAs are housed in five star hotels closer to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha where voting will take place on June 10.
The BJP is still short of the halfway mark of 123 in the 245-member House, but can now muster a 'working' majority with help of allies, friendly parties, some Independents and nominated members.
Yesteryear Bollywood star Rekha on turned up to attend the proceedings of the Rajya Sabha amid criticism for attending only seven sittings since being nominated two years ago.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking to allow secret ballot in polls for the Rajya Sabha and state legislative councils, observing that the open ballot system is needed to "prevent cross voting and maintain party discipline".
There is speculation that the Congress may bring Priyanka Gandhi, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Randeep Surjewala and RPN Singh, among others, to the upper house.
The ruling NDA alliance has secured a majority in the Rajya Sabha elections, winning key seats in Bihar, Odisha, and Haryana, while other candidates were elected unopposed across multiple states. The elections were marked by cross-voting allegations and political maneuvering.
Cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar has come under criticism for not attending a single session of Paliament this year. Parliamentary records the former batsman has not attended a single session this year. He made it to just three in 2013 and has so far not participated in any debates in the house.
Rediff.com lists a few celebs who have donned the role of a politician in the Rajya Sabha.
Former Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday appeared all set to become Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha after his appointment as Leader of Congress in the Upper House.
Megastar Chiranjeevi is likely to get elevated soon to the Rajya Sabha from a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. His candidature is almost certain for one of the four seats that the ruling Congress can win in the biennial elections to the Upper House of Parliament from the state, slated for March 30. The Congress, as part of his Praja Rajyam Party's merger deal last year, promised to induct Chiranjeevi into the Union Cabinet by nominating him to Rajya Sabha.
Eminent journalist HK Dua, who led editorial operations at three of India's leading newspapers, has died at the age of 88. He was also a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha and served as media advisor to two prime ministers.
This follows complaints from the Congress that nomination papers of two of its candidates were rejected "unconstitutionally."
