BJP fears UP cracks may show on secret RS ballot

A candidate needs at least 37 first-preference votes to win a Rajya Sabha seat. The BJP, with its current strength in the assembly placed at 88, can get two seats on its own with 14 surplus votes in hand. If the party is able to mop up 23 votes from the BSP and its NDA allies, it may win a third seat also. However, thanks to dissidence, the prospects of BJP candidates in the secret ballot are a subject of speculation.

The contenders for the Upper House berths are central BJP general secretary Rajnath Singh, general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and spokesman Sunil Shastri. Each has his own merits. Rajnath Singh, given his stature, would be impossible to be overlooked. Naqvi, being a Muslim, belongs to a rare species in the party. Shastri has had just a six-month stint in the Rajya Sabha and the party would find it difficult to jettison him now.

The exact figure of BJP dissidents is hazy. The dissident camp claims the support of 27 MLAs and five MLCs. The number of disgruntled people may be even higher. Some legislators may not have come in to the open, but they may take resort to cross-voting. During the March-2000 Rajya Sabha polls, a sizeable number of BJP MLAs had defied the party whip by cross-voting.