41 leaders for 56 seats have already been elected unopposed. The list includes former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief JP Nadda, Ashok Chavan and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and L Murugan. For 15 seats, elections are due in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh.
In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP has fielded eight candidates and the Opposition Samajwadi Party three for the 10 Rajya Sabha seats, setting the stage for strong contest over one seat. The focus will be on how many first preference votes the candidate gets – the magic figure is 37.
The BJP is said to be banking on surplus votes from Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal, which has joined the NDA in all but name. Leaders of the BJP have also claimed that at least 10 MLAs of Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party are in touch with them. The SP – which is in alliance with the Congress — has staunchly denied it.
The BJP has fielded former Union minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, senior state leader Amarpal Maurya, former minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind) party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh and former Agra mayor Naveen Jain. Its eighth candidate is Sanjay Seth — a former member of the Samajwadi Party and an industrialist.
The SP has fielded actor-MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Dalit leader Ramji Lal Suman.
In Karnataka, the ruling Congress shifted its MLAs to a private hotel on Monday to prevent undue influences — a situation that has seen multiple re-runs in the chequered politics of the state. State party chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has denied any possibility of cross-voting by the party MLAs.
In Himachal Pradesh, the BJP has forced a contest on the state’s single seat by fielding Harsh Mahajan against Congress’s Abhishek Manu Singhvi. While the Congress has 40 MLAs to the BJP’s 25, the election will be seen as a prestige battle for Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.
Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by MLAs through the proportional representation process with the single transferable vote (STV) system. The MLAs have to list candidates in order of preference. Their first choice counts most — a candidate with the required number of first preference votes get elected, else the votes get transferred to their next choice. 
The ruling BJP holds 28 of the 56 seats and is expected to have at least 29 after the election. In Uttar Pradesh, INDIA bloc will gain one seat as the SP is expected to improve its tally from one to two seats 
Currently, the Rajya Sabha has a strength of 245. The term for Upper House MPs is six years, and elections are held every two years for 33 per cent of the seats.

India expects action against the culprits involved in last year’s attacks on its high commission in London and consulate in San Francisco as well as those involved in threatening the Indian diplomats in Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said.

The external affairs minister said India had to suspend issuance of visas in Canada as its diplomats were repeatedly “threatened and intimidated in many ways” and we “got very little comfort from the Canadian system that time”.

In September last year, India temporarily suspended issuance of visas to the Canadian citizens, a move that came days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The visa services were resumed several weeks later.

India strongly rejected Trudeau’s allegations.

India has been asserting its “core issue” with Canada remained that of the space given to the separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.

“We expect the culprits in the attack in our consulate in San Francisco to be brought to book, we expect action against people who stormed into our high commission in London and we expect action against people who threatened our diplomats (in Canada),” Mr Jaishankar said at a summit organised by TV9 Network.

The Indian high commission in London was attacked by certain pro-Khalistani elements in March 19 last year while there was an attempted arson at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco in July.

The Indian diplomats faced threats in Canada in September.

“We had to suspend issuance of visas in Canada because our diplomats were not safe going to work. Our diplomats were repeatedly threatened. They were intimidated in many ways and we got very little comfort from the Canadian system that time,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“We reached a stage when as a minister, I could not risk exposing the diplomats to the kind of violence which was very clearly prevalent in Canada at that time. That part of it has been rectified. Today, our visa operations are pretty much normal,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar said the situation has improved since then.

To a question on the space given to the Khalistani elements in Canada, he cited instances of throwing of smoke bombs into the Indian missions in that country.

“They (Canada) keep telling us that we are a democracy. There is freedom of speech and, therefore, people say these things,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“Freedom of speech cannot extend to intimidating diplomats who are doing their duty. Throwing smoke bombs to embassy and consulates, advocating violence and separatism against a friendly state is not freedom of speech, this is misuse of freedom of speech,” he added.

Mr Jaishankar said the culprits involved in these attacks must be brought to book.

“In the UK, we actually saw our high commission being attacked by mobs and honestly we did not get the kind of protection which we expected to get,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“Things have improved in the UK. We find today a much firmer response in Australia and in the US,” he added.

“If a receiving state does not investigate and take action against someone who attacks our embassy and consulates, there is a message in it. I do not think it is good for any of these countries to send that kind of message for their own reputation,” Mr Jaishankar said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

In a major setback to Samajwadi Party ahead of the voting for 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, its chief whip in the Assembly resigned this morning. The resignation of Manoj Kumar Pandey, MLA from Unchahar, came hours after as many as 8 MLAs skipped a dinner hosted by party chief Akhilesh Yadav  – a cause for worry amid the cross-voting buzz in the election to the Upper House.   

Besides hitting the SP’s prospects in this key election, cross-voting will compound the party’s worries months ahead of the general election. The SP will be contesting 63 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh as part of the INDIA alliance and a mutiny months before the polls will be a massive blow.   

Earlier, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav had alleged that the BJP is putting pressure on the party’s MLAs. “This is how they work. They instil fear, threaten people, use agencies or take up any old case and pressure them. All these will not work in this election,” he said yesterday.

This morning, however, he was less confident. “We hope all three candidates of Samajwadi Party win. BJP can use all the tactics to win elections. BJP will do everything possible for victory. Some of our leaders who want personal gains can go to the BJP,” he said.

A total of 56 Rajya Sabha seats became vacant this year. Forty-one candidates were elected unopposed. Of the remaining, 10 are in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka and one in Himachal Pradesh.

For the 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, 11 candidates are in the race — 8 from the ruling BJP and 3 from main Opposition Samajwadi Party.

The BJP is confident of the victory of all its candidates, especially after it recently secured the support of the Jayant Chaudhary-led Rastriya Lok Dal. “We have the support of Nishad Party, Suhel Dev Samaj Party, Apna Dal, Rashtriya Lok Dal and Jansatta Dal. I am confident all 8 NDA candidates will win,” state BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary has said.

Earlier, leaders of the BJP had claimed that a section of SP legislators were in touch with them. The Akhilesh Yadav-led party had denied this, but the absence of eight MLAs at last night’s dinner has left the main Opposition worried.

Speaking to news agency ANI, SP legislator Zahid Baig said, “Many people did not come. Maybe they are busy. But if they have taken money (to cross-vote), people will not forgive them.”

The BJP’s eight candidates are former Union Minister RPN Singh, former MP Chaudhary Tejveer Singh, general secretary of BJP’s Uttar Pradesh unit Amarpal Maurya, former state minister Sangeeta Balwant (Bind), party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, former MLA Sadhna Singh, former Agra mayor Naveen Jain and Sanjay Seth. The SP has fielded actor MP Jaya Bachchan, retired IAS officer Alok Ranjan and Ramji Lal Suman. The BJP has adequate numbers to get seven candidates elected, but its move to field an eighth has forced a contest. And it may succeed if cross-voting happens.

What’s Happening in Karnataka, Himachal

Five candidates are in the contest for four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka. The ruling Congress is confident of winning three seats, and the BJP-JDS combine has the numbers to win at least one. But the Opposition alliance’s naming of a second candidate has made it an exciting contest. Taking no changes, the ruling Congress has shifted its MLAs to a private hotel. State party chief and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has denied any possibility of cross-voting.

In Himachal, only one seat is going to polls. The Congress has a comfortable strength in the Assembly, but the BJP has forced a contest by fielding a candidate.