Elections for a total of 58 seats for Rajya Sabha from various states are slated for March 29.
Stakes are high and bargaining is tough.
There are rumours of wide ranging lucrative offers to MLAs of smaller parties as well as vulnerable legislators likely to indulge in cross voting or play spoilsport. A minister sardonically said it is party time for smaller parties and many candidates would be elected through tender. The UP assembly has 424 members and each of the 11 candidates need atleast 36 first preference votes to reach the winning post. It is a major break from conventions and established norms. The Congress which has only 15 MLAs in the assembly has released a list of 26 MLA who have decided to support party nominee Inder Khosla.