LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh is set to witness a contest for the 11 Rajya Sabha seats with nomination papers of all the 12 candidates being found valid on scrutiny on Wednesday.
Nomination papers of 12 candidates for 11 seats of Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh were found valid, an official spokesman said at the end of scrutiny. The elections to Rajya Sabha are slated for June 11.
The polls took an interesting turn yesterday when an Independent candidate Preeti Mahapatra, backed by several BJP legislators and some others, entered the fray as the 12th candidate for 11 seats from the state. She filed her nomination papers on the last day yesterday, ensuring that the elections will not be uncontested.
Earlier, seven candidates of Samajwadi Party and two of Bahujan Samaj Party, including national general secretary Satish Chandra Mishra, had filed their nominations for Rajya Sabha. Kapil Sibal is the candidate from Congress while BJP has fielded Shiv Pratap Shukla.
In the 403-member UP Assembly, ruling SP has 229 legislators, BSP 80, BJP 41, Congress 29. In addition, there are some smaller parties and Independents. Each candidate will need 34 votes for victory.
Contest also imminent for 13 Legislative Council seats, with nomination papers of all the 14 candidates being found valid. To win a Council seat, a candidate would require 29 votes.
The last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 3.
PTI