(IE)
Voting began 9 am Friday for the high-stakes elections for 16 vacant seats in the Upper House in four states, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Two media barons are battling it out as Independent candidates in Haryana and Rajasthan. In Karnataka, a win over the fourth vacant seat is set for a cliffhanger with both Congress and BJP fielding an extra candidate and the JD(S), too, trying its luck with a surprise candidate by the JD(S) party with real estate baron D Kupendra Reddy.
In Maharashtra, BJP’s three candidates, Shiv Sena’s two and Congress and NCP’s one each fight for six vacant seats. The All India Majlis e Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has decided to extend its support to the MVA candidates. AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel Friday said that his party has decided to vote for the MVA to defeat BJP. Meanwhile, a Bombay High Court judge refused to entertain a plea by NCP leader Nawab Malik challenging an order by a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court which refused to give him permission to visit Vidhan Sabha to vote in the elections.
