The INDIA bloc finished last week on a high after the Congress sealed a pan-India seat-share deal with the Aam Aadmi Party, and another with the Samajwadi Party for Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The Congress-led bloc was also close to an accord with the Shiv Sena (UBT) and Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) in Maharashtra and reached out to Bengal’s Trinamool.

Confidence in the opposition ranks, therefore, was high going into Tuesday’s Rajya Sabha poll.

That confidence took a hit by close of voting after six Congress MLAs in Himachal Pradesh, as well as three independent MLAs, and seven Samajwadi Party lawmakers in Uttar Pradesh cross-voted.

READ | Cross-Voting In Himachal, Tight Race In UP In Rajya Sabha Polls

Unsurprisingly, the 16 votes went to Bharatiya Janata Party candidates, with the party now set to claim one additional seat in each state and receive a prestige boost ahead of the Lok Sabha election.

There was some encouragement from Karnataka, where the Congress held on to three seats – thanks to the support of two independent MLAs, two from local parties, and one BJP cross-voting lawmaker.

The defeats – discounting the fact it strengthens the BJP’s hand – underlines the extent of the challenge facing INDIA in the general election, in which the BJP plans to win 370 seats on its own.

They will also make the Congress’ task of negotiating seat-share deals in other states even harder.

The party is already under pressure – the stand-off with Mamata Banerjee in Bengal is a good example – to scale down its demands with allies pointing to its recent dismal electoral track record.

A significant point in all of this is two of the three states in which the BJP forced an election – and has now won two additional Rajya Sabha seats – are ruled by eternal rivals, the Congress.

Himachal Pradesh Rajya Sabha Election

The Congress swept to power in the hill state just under two years ago; the party won 40 of 68 Assembly seats in a rare big (and solo) win for the party. The BJP won just 25 seats.

There was only one vacant seat, and the Congress nominated Abhishek Singhvi, expecting a comfortable win for the senior leader. Mr Singhvi needed only 35 votes to be confirmed.

The Congress should have closed this poll in double-quick time. However, the two sides are now at 34 votes each after six Congress MLAs (and three independents) voted for the BJP candidate instead.

Sources told NDTV the cross-voting MLAs were Sudhir Sharma, Rajendra Rana, Ravi Thakur, Indradutt Lakhanpal, Chaitanya Sharma, and Devendra Bhutto.

READ | 6 Himachal Congress MLAs Taken to BJP-ruled Haryana: Chief Minister Sukhu

Hours after polling closed, there was more drama; the six, and the three independents, were reportedly taken to Panchkula in BJP-ruled Haryana, according to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu. 

READ | Congress Has “Lost Majority” In Himachal: BJP’s Jairam Thakur

A further fallout sees the BJP now claiming the Congress government is in the minority, and talk of a floor test less than halfway through a five-year term, is now being discussed.

Uttar Pradesh Rajya Sabha Election

There are 10 Rajya Sabha seats available in the state this year.

Of these, the BJP, with 252 MLAs on its books (plus 18 allied votes), has seven seats locked, while the SP, with 108 lawmakers and a handful from its allies, was looking at a three-seat return.

Now it appears the BJP will claim an eighth seat, thanks to seven cross-voting Samajwadi Party MLAs and support from Jayant Chaudhary’s Rashtriya Lok Dal.

The RLD is an INDIA member for now, but is expected to switch to the BJP-led alliance shortly.

READ | In Rajya Sabha Poll, Akhilesh Yadav Says 3rd Seat Bid Was “Test”

Mr Yadav – who was dealt a shock early this morning (and a clear sign of what was to come) after his Chief Whip and three MLAs were spotted with the BJP – has now claimed the third seat was a “test”.

Karnataka Rajya Sabha Election

The southern state – also Congress-ruled – had four seats falling vacant.

The ruling party was expected to claim the three it held without fuss, since it has 134 MLAs to the 85 between the BJP and its ally, the Janata Dal (Secular), and needed only one more to do just that.

As it transpired, the Congress polled 139 overall – including ST Somashekar, the BJP MLA who cross-voted – allowing Ajay Maken, Dr Syed Naseer Hussain, and GC Chandrashekhar victories.

The BJP had enough – 45 votes are needed – to retain its one seat, won by Narayana Bandage.

Rest Of India

Apart from these, 41 seats have been filled unopposed.

The list includes former Congress boss Sonia Gandhi, who leaves her seat in the party stronghold of Raebareli in UP – maybe to Priyanaka Gandhi Vadra – after holding it since she won it in 2004.

READ | Sonia Gandhi Shifts To Rajya Sabha. End Of Era, Big Change For Congress

BJP boss JP Nadda has been moved from Himachal Pradesh – after the party lost the state – to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat. Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw (Odisha) and L Murugan (Madhya Pradesh) were also elected without fuss, as was ex-Congressman Ashok Chavan.

Mr Chavan, with the Congress for decades, quit two weeks ago and joined the BJP hours later.

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Ananya Panday and Deepika Padukone shared the screen in Shakun Batra’s Gehraiyaan alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Dhairya Karwa.

In a recent interview, Ananya revealed her admiration for Deepika, expressing a desire to “steal” her body and crockery collection. Ananya, who recently bought a house, has developed a fascination for crockery sets like plates, bowls, and spoons, often taking pictures of them and considering them her new obsession.

She also expressed a fondness for the South Indian food served at Deepika’s house, jokingly stating her desire to “steal” that too. Ananya shared that buying and moving into her new house was a step towards independence and taking on more responsibility, a personal milestone she wanted to achieve.

Ananya Panday’s upcoming projects include Control, The Untold Story of C. Sankaran, and Call Me Bae.

In a stunning upset for the Congress, the BJP has managed to pull off a victory for its candidate in the lone Rajya Sabha seat in Himachal Pradesh despite having only 25 MLAs in the 68-member Assembly. The BJP’s victory was the result of cross-voting by Congress MLAs and a draw of lots that went in its favour. 

The loss could be much bigger than just a blow to the Congress’s prestige as it is likely to be followed by a no-confidence vote, endangering the party’s government in Himachal Pradesh – one of only three states that it rules on its own. Compounding the Congress’ pain will be the fact that the Lok Sabha elections are just weeks away.

Declaring the victory of the BJP candidate, Harsh Mahajan, Leader of the Opposition Jairam Thakur said in Hindi, “Despite having such a huge majority, the Congress has lost the Rajya Sabha election in Himachal Pradesh. I want to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President JP Nadda and (Home Minister) Amit Shah. We have pulled off a victory when our chances seemed very low.”

The Congress has 40 MLAs in the Assembly and its candidate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, was expected to win comfortably. During the voting for the only Rajya Sabha seat for which elections were held on Tuesday, six Congress MLAs and three Independents supporting the government reportedly cast their ballots for the BJP.

Earlier in the day, Mr Thakur – who was also the Himachal chief minister until 2022, when the BJP lost to the Congress – had said that the Sukhu government had lost the majority in the Assembly. 

Sources have told NDTV that the BJP is likely to move a no-confidence motion on Thursday and their claims were bolstered when Mr Sukhu alleged during the counting of votes that six Congress MLAs had been whisked away to BJP-ruled Haryana. 

“The way 5-6 MLAs have been taken by a convoy of the Haryana Police and the CRPF… The MLAs’  families are trying to get in touch with them and the legislators should contact them. There is no need to worry. There is a government and an opposition in a democracy but the kind of hooliganism (‘gundagardi’) being done by the opposition will never be accepted by the people of Himachal,” the chief minister said. 

Cross-Voting, and A Little Bit Of Luck

Helped by six Congress MLAs and three Independents reportedly siding with its candidate, the BJP managed to secure 34 ballots for Mr Mahajan, reducing the votes for Mr Singhvi to the exact same number. The winner was then decided through a draw of lots, which went in Mr Mahajan’s favour.

Speaking after the results were declared, Mr Singhvi said in Hindi, “Any party fielding a candidate when it has just 25 MLAs and the government has the support of 43 sends out only one message – that they are shamelessly planning to do something that the law does not allow. And I am not talking about Mr Mahajan or this election alone, I am talking about the principle.”

“If you think that one person, or two or nine can suddenly switch ideologies, then I think all of us live in a fool’s paradise. This change is unfortunate for India, and especially Himachal Pradesh, where this culture did not exist. If this is New India, I would prefer the older version,” he added.