- In Rajya Sabha polls, Whenever the number of candidates exceed the number of vacancies, elections are held. Whenever the number of candidates is equal to the number of seats, the candidates are declared elected unopposed.
- In 7 states, the number of candidates is higher compared to the number of vacancies which has necessitated elections on June 11.
- Most of these extra candidates are billionaires who hope to get elected by opening their purse strings
- One reason why money power is on full display is because party whips are not binding on MLAs in RS elections
- In Karnataka, a recent Sting allegedly showed JD(S) MLAs asking money for votes which prompted calls for countermanding these elections although EC has decided against it.
- In UP, the independent candidate Preeti Mahapatra is facing charges of trying to use money power to win over MLAs
- Candidates like Mahesh Poddar in Jharkhand, Kamal Morarka in Rajasthan and K C Ramamurthy in Karnataka are facing similar charges
New Delhi: The biennial elections for 57 Rajya Sabha seats across 16 states have thrown up interesting scenarios.
Candidates have been elected unopposed in around 9 states where all political parties fielded candidates in proportion to their strength in state Assemblies. The absence of extra candidates did not necessitate elections and all the candidates were declared elected unopposed.
However, in at least 7 states namely Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Haryana, the presence of extra candidates compared to the number of vacant seats has made the election necessary on June 11.
These extra candidates are either independents, mostly billionaires who hope to get elected by opening their purse strings or they are fielded by political parties who have surplus votes and are looking to grab votes of rival party MLAs as well as independent MLAs. All these have led to the unsavoury situation that can lead to crossvoting.
In all these 6 states, there are allegations of money power being blatantly misused for garnering votes of MLAs belonging to different political parties.
One reason why money power is on full display is the fact that party whips do not apply to MLAs in these elections. It means that no party can issue whips to its MLAs during Rajya Sabha elections. Political parties can issue instructions but violation of such instructions by their MLAs can't be a reason for their disqualification from the Assembly. If MLAs are expelled from the party and a letter is given in this regard to the Speaker, they could only be declared unattached members. However, their membership in the Assembly could not be taken away.
This freedom of choosing candidates on the basis of his/her own conscience provides ample opportunities to MLAs to ignore candidates fielded/supported by their own parties. So, even if the MLA does not vote for party supported candidate, he/she does not run the risk of losing his membership. And this is the root cause of all controversies.
Since these elections are based on proportional representations, every party knows how many of its candidates can get elected easily. Political machinations start when there are more candidates than the vacancies available.
Political parties and individual candidates, most of whom are billionaires, try to lure away MLAs of other parties taking advantage of non-appliance of whip.
Let’s first understand the arithmetic of these Rajya Sabha elections.
If an Assembly has “X” number of members and “Y” seats are vacant then the votes required to elect one candidate will be (X/Y+1). If the number is a fraction then the closest number on the upper side will be the requisite number. If its a whole number then the requisite number will be 1 higher than that.
The members submit their preferences for different candidates. For example, first preference for candidate “a”, second preference for candidate “b” and so on. One who gets the minimum votes required in first preference votes gets elected. After that the process for selecting candidates through second, third preferences start.
Let’s have a look at the existing political scenario in all 7 states where there are more candidates than existing vacancies and therefore, the elections will take place on June 11.
1. Karnataka
Seats Vacant: 4
Total MLAs: 224
Minimum votes required per candidate: 45 (224/4+1)
No of candidates: 5
The BJP which has 45 MLAs in the Assembly can easily get one candidate elected and the party is sure of the victory of its candidate Nirmala Sitharaman, the union minister in Modi cabinet.
The Congress has 123 members and it can easily get two candidates (Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh) elected through first preference votes. For its third candidate (K C Ramamurthy, former IPS officer who is also a wealthy educationist) the party has only 33 first preference votes and it needs at least 12 more votes. The party is eying the independents and votes of JD(S) MLAs.
With 40 MLAs, JD(S) has fielded B M Farookh, a wealthy businessman as its candidate and is desperate to garner votes of independent candidates. The party is also pinning hopes on independent MLAs.
A recent TV Sting allegedly showed JD(S) MLAs asking money for votes which prompted calls for countermanding these elections. The latest news is that some of the independent MLAs have been flown, allegedly by Congress, to Mumbai and all sorts of allegations and counter-allegations are being made by rival political parties.
2. Uttar Pradesh
Seats Vacant: 11
Total MLAs: 403
Minimum votes required per candidate: 34 (403/11+1)
No of candidates: 12
The Presence of one extra candidate has made the polls very interesting .
With its respective strength in the state Assembly, SP is sure to get 7 candidates elected. Similarly, BJP is set to get elected 1 candidate and BSP 2 candidates.
Congress with 29 MLAs needs 5 more votes to get its candidate, Kapil Sibal elected. The party was very hopeful of his smooth election until the BJP supported Preeti Mahapatra of Gujarat, an independent contestant, as the 12th candidate.
Preeti Mahapatra is a wealthy businesswoman and is believed to be close to the present dispensation.
Mahapatra’s opponents accuse her of trying to use money power, at the behest of the BJP, to purchase votes of MLAs belonging to other political parties.
The BJP has extended the support of its surplus 7 votes to Mahapatra but she still needs 27 additional votes. She is targeting all those including the surplus votes of the BSP which the Congress was also targeting and it has made the contest very interesting.
3. Rajasthan
Seats Vacant: 4
Total MLAs: 200
Minimum votes required per candidate: 41 (200/4+1)
No of candidates: 5
With its own 160 MLAs and 4 independents, BJP was confident of getting all its 4 candidates elected but things changed with Kamal Morarka, former Union minister and businessman, joining the race.
Since Morarka got proposers from all major parties, BJP is now wary of the victory of its candidates.
Interestingly, the Congress has supported the candidature of Kamal Morarka but the party has only 23 MLAs. It means that Morarka needs votes of at least 18 more MLAs.
The BJP has expressed apprehensions that Morarka may indulge in horse trading in these elections.
4. Haryana
Seats Vacant: 2
Total MLAs: 90
Minimum votes required per candidate: 31 (90/2+1)
No of candidates: 3
With 51 MLAs, BJP is sure of the victory of its candidate Chaudhary Birendra Singh, the union minister. The party has 20 additional first preference votes and it has decided to support media baron Subhash Chandra.
Chandra needs 11 more votes but the candidature of R K Anand, the renowned lawyer, has further complicated the matter for him. Chandra was looking at INLD for support but INLD and Congress have decided to support Anand. The battle has become very interesting.
Since Chandra is a media baron, his opponents have expressed fears about crossvoting among MLAs of Haryana Assembly.
5. Madhya Pradesh
Seats Vacant: 3
Total MLAs: 230
Minimum votes required per candidate: 58 (230/3+1)
No of candidates: 4
With 165 members in the house, BJP is confident of the victory of its two candidates – M J Akbar and Anil Madhav Dave.
With 57 MLAs, Congress was confident of the victory of its candidate Vivek Tankha but the BJP played spoilsport by extending support to an independent candidate Vinod Gotiya. The Congress is worried over the additional 1 vote required for the victory of its candidate and the party fears BJP may poach its MLAs by indulging in horse-trading.
6. Jharkhand
Seats Vacant: 2
Total MLAs: 81
Minimum votes required per candidate: 28 (81/2+1)
No of candidates: 3
With 48 MLAs of BJP-AJSU alliance, the saffron party is confident of getting its candidate Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi easily elected in the elections.
The party has fielded another candidate Mahesh Poddar, an industrialist. The party can transfer the surplus 20 votes of the alliance to Poddar but he will still need the support of at least 8 more MLAs. From where will he get these MLAs?
Basant Soren, the acting head of JMM, is also trying his luck in these elections. Since his party has 19 votes, he is looking to get 6 votes of Congress. He has already met Sonia Gandhi seeking the support of Congress MLAs. He also has an eye on 2 votes of Babulal Marandi’s JVM.
But the entry of Poddar has made the contest interesting. Both Poddar and Soren are looking to enlist support of as many MLAs as possible.
In Jharkhand also, the political circles are abuzz with money power playing an important role in deciding the fates of the candidates.
7. Uttarakhand
Seats Vacant: 1
Total MLAs: 61
Minimum votes required per candidate: 31 (61/1+1)
No of candidates: 3
With 27 MLAs of its own and around 6 PDF MLAs, the Congress is confident of the victory of its official candidate Pradeep Tamta.
However, the presence of two other independent candidates Geeta Thakur and Anil Goyal has made the contest interesting. What is even more interesting is that these two candidates are members of the BJP although they are not official candidates of the BJP in these elections.
The BJP, despite having 28 MLAs, has decided not to field any official candidate but is reported to have thrown its weight behind either of these two independent candidates.
The prestige of Harish Rawat is once again at stake in these elections because deep fissures have appeared in the party over the candidature of Pradeep Tamta who is known to be very close to the Uttarakhand Chief Minister.
The role of money power deciding the fate of candidates in these elections can’t be completely ruled out.
