Amid reports of cross-voting in Rajya Sabha polls, how things stood before Tuesday
Fifteen Rajya Sabha seats across three states are up for grabs on Tuesday. The Election Commission in January notified elections for 56 seats across 15 states that are set to fall vacant in April but elections are being held in only three states since in the remaining MPs were elected unopposed. Earlier projections had suggested that the composition of the Rajya Sabha was unlikely to change significantly, despite the BJP’s decisive Assembly election victories in three Hindi heartland states in December and the changing political equation in Bihar. But in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, amid reports of cross voting, the polls may throw up a few surprises.