NEW DELHI: Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Virendra Singh on Friday announced that the party will field a third candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, despite only two SP candidates being assured of victory.If the SP fields a third candidate, it would set up a contest with the ruling BJP for one seat. Seven BJP candidates are assured of victory. Polling for 10 vacant Rajya Sabha seats from the state is scheduled for October 16.“We will decide our third candidate today and the nomination will be filed by October 5,” Singh told PTI.The Chandauli MP further remarked that the SP would adopt the “same strategy” the BJP used to secure the election of its candidates in the previous Rajya Sabha polls.“We will get all three of our candidates elected through the same route by which the BJP had got its candidates elected in the last Rajya Sabha elections,” Singh added.He also claimed that several BJP MLAs seeking SP tickets for the 2027 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections were in touch with the Akhilesh Yadav-led party.Singh’s remarks came a day after Akhilesh Yadav declined to confirm whether the SP would field a third candidate, suggesting that the BJP could put up “nine or even 10 candidates.”The SP on September 30 nominated veteran party leader and Akhilesh Yadav’s uncle, Ram Gopal Yadav, and Reliance Industries executive Dhanraj Parimal Nathwani for the elections. Both subsequently filed their nomination papers in Lucknow.
The arithemtic
The number of first-preference votes required to win a Rajya Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh depends on the number of vacancies and the number of MLAs eligible to vote. With 10 seats up for election this time, the winning benchmark is likely to be around 37 first-preference votes.The BJP currently has 255 MLAs in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly, while its NDA allies have another 33, taking the alliance’s combined strength to 288.The SP has 101 MLAs. Three legislators who defected to the BJP are currently unattached, while rebel MLA Puja Pal remains listed with the SP despite having joined the BJP. The Congress, an SP ally, has two MLAs.
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In the 2024 Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP won all eight seats it contested, while two of the SP’s three nominees were elected. The SP’s third candidate, Alok Ranjan, lost.Rajya Sabha elections are conducted through proportional representation using the single transferable vote system. Under this system, surplus votes received by winning candidates can be transferred to other candidates based on voters’ subsequent preferences.As a result, if more than 10 candidates enter the fray, the contest could hinge on the distribution and transfer of votes, making electoral arithmetic and strategy crucial.(With PTI inputs)
