All 9 BJP candidates win nail-biting contest in UP

NEW DELHI: Winning 12 out of 26 seats across seven states, the Bharatiya Janata Party increased its strength in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

It also won nine seats in the key battleground state of Uttar Pradesh, including one in a nailbiting contest against a combined opposition candidate from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Finance minister Arun Jaitley, BJP spokesman GVL Narasimha Rao and actress-politician Jaya Bachchan of the Samajwadi Party (SP) were the prominent winners in Uttar Pradesh.

The Election Commission had in February announced vacancies for 59 seat in 17 states, and 33 candidates in 10 states were elected unopposed. Elections were held in 26 seats in seven states on Friday. In all, the BJP won 28 seats, which is a gain of 11 seats in the Upper House where the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a minority. The gains came mainly from Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP won a three-fourths majority in assembly elections last year. The Congress won nine seats and suffered a loss of five seats.

“Congratulations to all those elected to the Rajya Sabha from various states and best wishes for their Parliamentary career. I hope they effectively voice the aspirations of the states they will represent,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter.

All eyes had been on UP, where the BJP secured a clear victory in eight out of 10 seats and Samajwadi Party in one.