Anand, Rudy elected to RS

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Eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani, 87, managed to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan easily with 41 first preference votes despite a lot of speculation that he could face trouble from BJP MLAs said to be opposed to his candidature. Mr Jethmalani, who had been a minister in the NDA government and subsequently left the party, rejoined it only to jump into the electoral fray.

The other BJP candidate from Rajasthan, Mr V.P. Singh, also secured 41 votes. The party, which has 79 MLAs in the state Assembly, managed to get the backing of a lone JD(U) MLA and two Independents.
Union minister Anand Sharma, whose terms in the Upper House from Himachal Pradesh had expired a few months ago, was fielded from Rajasthan because his party in his home state was not in a position to get him elected from there. He and the other Congress candidate, Ashk Ali Tak, got 51 first preference votes each.
In Orissa, even the united Opposition attempt by the Congress and the BJP to dent the ruling BJD failed, and it bagged all three Rajya Sabha seats from the state. BJD nominees Pyarimohan Mohapatra, Sashi Bhusan Behera and Baishnab Parida were declared elected.
The united Opposition, despite having the required strength, had to bite the dust as BJD poll managers successfully effected divisions in the two parties. Two Congress MLAs — Mr Shivaji Majhi of Lanjigarh and Gregory Minz of Rajgangpur — and BJP legislator from Bonai Bhimsen Choudhury abstained from voting, making it easy for the BJD’s third candidate, Baishnab Parida, to sail through.
In Bihar, in a keen contest for five seats — with six candidates in the fray — all five official candidates of parties won amid cross-voting. The sixth candidate and the only Independent, Karnataka business tycoon Uday B. Garudachar, lost as he got just two votes against the required winning number of 38.
Three NDA candidates — BJP’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy and the JD(U)’s R.C.P. Singh and Upendra Kushwaha — secured comfortable victories as expected. The Opposition RJD-LJP combine’s two candidates — Mr Paswan and former RJD MP Ram Kripal Yadav — also managed to win despite fears of rampant cross-voting after the Independent candidate’s emergence.
In Jharkhand, with three candidates vying for two seats, Congress-JVM’s joint candidate Dhiraj Sahu and JMM nominee K.D. Singh, a Chandigarh-based industrialist, won with 28 votes each, while the BJP’s Ajay Maru lost as he got only 17 votes. Mr Sahu, a Jharkhand liquor baron, entered the Upper House for the second time with Congress support. Three jailed MLAs also took part in the election.