Today in Politics: RS polls may end in a photo-finish in UP, Himachal, Karnataka; Rahul at Cambridge

And that was the case for almost all of the 15 states where the Rajya Sabha seats had fallen vacant. However, the BJP has fielded an extra candidate in UP and Himachal, while its ally JD(S) has done so in Karnataka. This has raised apprehensions of cross-voting.

In Karnataka, the Congress shifted all its MLAs to a hotel. In the fray currently are five candidates to fill four seats — Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar (all Congress), Narayansa Bandage (BJP) and Kupendra Reddy fielded by the JD(S). All parties have issued whips to their respective MLAs.

In UP, the BJP and the principal Opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) have the numbers to send seven and three members to the Upper House respectively, but with the BJP fielding Sanjay Seth as its eighth candidate, a poll thriller for the tenth seat can be expected in the state.

Himachal Pradesh, which is voting for a single Rajya Sabha seat will also see tense scenes. The Opposition BJP’s candidate is Harsh Mahajan, while the Congress has fielded Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The BJP Monday accused the Congress of issuing whip to its members to pressure them, saying that the MLAs have been elected democratically and have the right to vote as per their wish.

Rahul in UK for Cambridge lectures 

Pressing the pause button on the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which was pitched as his big voter outreach programme before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will be at Cambridge University, his alma mater, to deliver two lectures.

In all, the Yatra is taking a five-day break from February 26 to March 1.  The Yatra will resume again on March 2, from Dholpur in Rajasthan. It will then cover Morena, Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Shajapur and Ujjain, among other districts in Madhya Pradesh.

On the Yatra’s agenda going forward, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said Rahul will visit the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain for a “darshan” on March 5.

Rahul’s last tour to the United Kingdom had caused a stir in Parliament and the ruling BJP could be expected to track his Cambridge lectures this time too for taking potshots at the Congress leader.

In the Parliament’s Budget session last year, the BJP had gone all out to slam the Congress over Rahul’s

remarks in the UK, where he had spoken at various events about “democracy” in India being “under attack”.  Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal had charged that a senior Opposition leader had “attacked” India’s democracy in a “shameless manner” in a foreign country. Without taking Rahul’s name, Goyal had alleged that the Opposition leader had insulted the Indian Army, Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker, Election Commission, judiciary and media on foreign soil.

In the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had led the Treasury benches’ offensive against Rahul and said: “He has sought the intervention of foreign powers to come and save Indian democracy. This is condemnable. The House should condemn and he should apologise to the Lok Sabha.” Singh was speaking amid sloganeering from the Opposition as well as the ruling party members on separate issues.

PM’s Tamil Nadu, Kerala visits

Continuing on his development project spree ahead of the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a two-day tour of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra starting Tuesday. He will take part in election-related activities as part of these visits too.

On Tuesday, PM Modi will be at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram. He will inaugurate three space infrastructure projects — the PSLV integration facility at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota; the semi-cryogenics integrated engine and stage test facility at the ISRO propulsion complex in Mahendragiri; and the Trisonic wind tunnel at the VSSC.

The PM will also review the progress of “Gaganyaan”, India’s human spaceflight mission.

Later, PM Modi will address a public meeting at the concluding event of the padayatra organised by the BJP’s state unit as part of its preparations for the Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP is looking to achieve a breakthrough in Kerala, where it has never won a parliamentary seat. It is the PM’s third visit to the state this year.

— With inputs from PTI