RS polls: Rebellion hits Congress, media baron Subhash Chandra scores upset win
New Delhi: Ruling BJP emerged as the biggest gainer in the Rajya Sabha elections held on Saturday, while Opposition Congress retained its position as the single largest party in the Upper House of Parliament.
Out of 27 seats that went to polls on Saturday, BJP and its supported candidates won 12, Congress six, Samajwadi Party seven and Bahujan Samaj Party two seats.
Prominent winners include Union Ministers M Venkaiah Naidu, Nirmala Sitharaman, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Chaudhary Birender Singh, Congress stalwarts Kapil Sibal, Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh and media baron Subhash Chandra.
Rebellion by Congress MLAs in Haryana helped BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra score an upset victory.
Subhash Chandra, a media baron, defeated RK Anand, a senior lawyer and a former MP, after 14 votes of Congress were rejected, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma told the media in Chandigarh.
In Uttar Pradesh, where 11 seats were up for grabs, Samajwadi Party won seven, Bahujan Samaj Party two, while BJP and Congress won one each.
All 11 official candidates, except BJP-backed independent Preeti Mahapatra, won the Rajya Sabha berths from the state.
The victorious candidates were Amar Singh, Beni Prasad Verma, Kuwar Rewati Raman Singh, Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Sukhram Singh Yadav, Sanjay Seth and Surendra Nagar (all SP), Satish Chandra Mishra and Ashok Sidharth (both BSP), Kapil Sibal (Congress) and Shiv Pratap Shukla (BJP).
In Haryana, BJP sprung a surprise by winning both the seats ? one by its candidate and Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh and other by the party supported independent candidate Subhash Chandra. But the results could spark controversy after votes of 14 Congress MLAs were declared invalid.
In Jharkhand, BJP managed to secure victory of its both the candidates. Its nominees ? Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Mahesh Poddar were declared elected to the Upper House of Parliament from the state. Basant Soren of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, who lost the polls, could muster only 26 votes despite having the backing of the entire opposition. (Agencies)