Some distinguished leaders, whose fates might be determined today, include Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik. 

The Rajya Sabha elections to fill the sixteen vacant seats in 4 states, particularly Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka, are presently underway amid speculations of horse-trading and fears of cross-voting. Polling started out at nine am and could be completed at four pm. The counting of votes will start at five pm. 

Of the sixteen seats, polling will take place in six Rajya Sabha seats in Maharashtra, from Haryana and 5 each from Karnataka and Rajasthan. Notably, all forty-one applicants from Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Telangana have been elected unopposed on Friday after the biennial elections to fifty-seven Rajya Sabha seats have been introduced recently. 

The Rajya Sabha has 245 individuals, along with 233 elected individuals and 12 nominated. While 233 individuals are elected from states and Union Territories (UTs), the President of India nominates the other remaining 12 from the fields of art, literature, science and tech and social services. 

Important Updates: 

1) In Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Haryana, elections are scheduled for sixteen seats. 

2) The fifty-seven open seats have been disbursed throughout 15 states. The BJP held 23 seats, even as Congress had eight. The rest become divided by the number of the other parties. 

3) The toughest races are anticipated in opposition-dominated states like Rajasthan and Maharashtra, in which each party have limited their legislators to resort to saving poaching. 

4) Uttar Pradesh has the maximum seats, with 11. It is observed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, each of that has six seats. 

5) Five seats have been vacant in Bihar, 4 in Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh, and 3 in Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. 

6) Additionally, seats from Punjab, Jharkhand, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana, and one from Uttarakhand, are vacant. 

7) Union Ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal, Congress’s Randeep Surjewala, Jairam Ramesh, Mukul Wasnik, and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut are amongst the ones standing for election. 

8) In Maharashtra, Rajya Sabha elections are being held for the primary time in decades, and the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena, Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP is in a bind after its arrested MLAs have been denied bail to vote. 

9) The BJP has exceeded the 100-member threshold withinside the upper house, turning into the first party to accomplish that since 1990. Nonetheless, the elections are anticipated to assist it to shore up its numbers earlier than the Presidential elections. 

10) Jammu and Kashmir were under President’s Rule in view 2017 whilst the last Presidential elections have been held. The competition controls 3 different states, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu.