The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday conducted raids on the premises of two independent members of Legislative Assembly and the relatives of several other legislators in connection with allegations of horse-trading that had led to countermanding of the March 30 Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand.
'Rahul Gandhi wants a group under the name 'new generation'. But look at the people who surround him.'
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Jharkhand faced embarrassment on Thursday when their candidate S S Ahluwalia lost the Rajya Sabha elections, which was held afresh after being countermanded earlier as the Congress and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha bagged the two seats.
The elections for the deputy chairman of the Rajya Sabha election is expected some time next week. The vacancy arose because the term of K Rehman Khan has ended. The Bharatiya Janata Party will take the contest seriously; much like it did for the Presidential and vice-presidential polls and may ask the Telugu Desam Party or the Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to contest.
Gujarat Assembly has issued notification for elections to three seats of Rajya Sabha, to be held on July 22. Elections were necessitated as terms of Patel and BJP MPs Surendra Patel and Pravin Nayak would end in August.
"The Commission is satisfied that the current election process for Rajya Sabha election from Jharkhand has been seriously vitiated and cannot be permitted to proceed," the 3-member EC headed by Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi said in a 12-page order.
The Election Commission has directed returning officers and chief electoral officers of Uttarakhand and Jharkhand not to start counting and announce results of the Rajya Sabha elections before its clearance. In a letter sent to the election officials in the two states, the poll panel has directed them that counting of votes "shall not be taken up" until they receive a specific written clearance from the commission.
Apparently under pressure from Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee, Congress on Thursday asked its candidate Abdul Mannan to withdraw from the Rajya Sabha elections in West Bengal.
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party rebel candidate B J Puttaswamy's nomination papers for the March 30 Rajya Sabha election have been rejected for violation of the office of profit clause, an election official said on Wednesday.
Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel will contest from Mahesana
Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi talks to Kavita Chowdhury on the need to speed up electoral reforms.
Despite getting a bigger-than-sought package from the central government for West Bengal and despite the Congress refraining from putting up a candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections from the state, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has made up her mind that she will continue to oppose most of the central government bills, projects and schemes.
The money play in Jharkhand in the Rajya Sabha elections appears to be destabilising the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, with its ally Jharkhand Mukti Morcha even threatening to pull it down if its candidate loses.
"I have already said whatever I have had to say. Now the government has to decide. Mukul Roy will be our candidate for the Railway minister," Mamata said during the filing of nominations for Rajya Sabha elections by Roy, the Union minister of state for Shipping, and three others.
Ahmed Patel's third tenure in the Upper House ends in August this year. He has opted out of the election despite the Congress having enough votes from Gujarat to ensure his re-election to the Upper House. Naturally, his decision to not enter Parliament again has surprised many, and speculation is rife over the decision
The BTP, a Congress ally which supported chief minister Ashok Gehlot during the revolt in his party earlier this year, is upset that the ruling party candidates chose BJP over it.
The Congress was in a tizzy trying to clean up its own mess in West Bengal, worried that it will have to get its own candidate defeated in West Bengal in the Rajya Sabha elections, or else face Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee rocking the United Progressive Alliance government's boat.
A senior leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party has described denial of party ticket for Rajya Sabha elections to deputy leader of Rajya Sabha, Surinder Singh Ahluwalia as the party showing its true colours.
The All Assam Students Union on Wednesday launched statewide protests against Assam Congress' decision to field a candidate from outside the state, Sanjay Singh in Rajya Sabha election in Assam bowing to the dictate of party high command.
As many as 51 MPs and MLAs have declared cases of crime against women.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday evening announced its list of members for the Rajya Sabha.
Election watchdog Association of Democratic Reforms also reported that Janata Dal-United's Mahendra Prasad was the richest with assets worth Rs 4,078 crore.
The rapprochement could open the door to an anti-saffron alliance for the 2019 general elections, reports Archis Mohan.
Fearing poaching, the party had shifted its legislators to various resorts in Gujarat in the one last week, dividing them in zone-wise groups. While some MLAs gathered in Rajkot in Saurashtra, few others were in Abu Road in Rajasthan.
With the reduced strength at 65, the Congress may find it difficult to win 2 RS seats.
BTP legislators Rajkumar Roat and Ramprasad asserted that their party's president and other leaders have agreed on extending support to the Gehlot government on the condition that demands related to development of the state are fulfilled.
"The BJP tried every trick to defeat the BSP candidate and indulged in malpractices," the BSP supremo alleged.
Orissa Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Shibaji Majhi, who his party has alleged was kidnapped at the behest of the ruling Biju Janata Dal, did not turn up to cast his vote in the Rajya Sabha elections till Thursday afternoon.
"BJP leaders are playing the game at the behest of central leaders. MLAs were offered money... Rs 10 crore in advance and Rs 15 crore after the government is toppled," the chief minister alleged and added that the BJP wants to convert the state's politics into a goat market, 'bakra mandi'.
The Dravida Munnetra Kazagham on Monday named two party nominees for the Rajya Sabha election and announced that the third seat was being allotted to ally Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday said the central leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party had discussed with him before finalising the names of two "low profile" party workers as candidates for the June 19 Rajya Sabha polls from the state. "Only the BJP can take such decisions and give opportunity to ordinary karyakartas. From our core committee (state) we had sent some names, but ultimately our national president spoke to me and said it has been decided to give tickets to ordinary party workers, we discussed it, after which the two names have been finalised."
Dubbing Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav a 'don,' expelled party leader Amar Singh on Friday questioned why Jaya Bachchan was renominated for Rajya Sabha elections when he was removed from the party for bringing the Bollywood star in the organisation.
He served as an effective link between the party and government during the two terms of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) between 2004 and 2014. As political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, he had access to leadership that no other leader in the party had and worked the channels to work out various issues.
Patel said the I-T raids on the Congress minister shows the utter desperation and frustration of the BJP.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi had on Sunday deliberated on the issue of Rajya Sabha nominations from Karnataka with senior party leaders. There are reports of talks between the Congress and H D Deve Gowda-led JD(S) for a possible tie-up for the Rajya Sabha polls.
The average asset of a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament is Rs 20.17 crore, says a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms. It also says that 67 per cent of Rajya Sabha MP's are crorepatis.
Former party General Secretary Satyavrat Chaturvedi has been given nomination from Uttaranchal.
During a fresh round of talks with North-East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) convenor Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier in the day, the NPP leaders stuck to their demand for change in the leadership of the BJP-led coalition government, they said.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya has dropped plans to contest the coming Rajya Sabha elections from Maharastra and seek re-election only from Karnataka. Admitting that he had talks with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackery on possibilities of his contesting from Maharashtra, the head of the Kingfisher Airlines said he did not get a good response as 'Sena is not fully in favour of non-Maharastrians'.
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Bharatiya Janata Party leaders C P Thakur and R K Sinha filed their nominations on Monday for the coming Rajya Sabha election from Bihar.
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