CHENNAI: With the Tamil Nadu Assembly election drawing closer, political attention has shifted to the Rajya Sabha election scheduled for March 15, which is seen as a crucial prelude to the larger electoral battle in the State.
Six Rajya Sabha seats from Tamil Nadu will fall vacant on April 1. The outgoing members include NR Elango, P Selvarasu, Tiruchi Siva and Kanimozhi Somu of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and AIADMK’s M Thambidurai and GK Vasan (TMC member won under AIADMK).
Based on the current strength in the Assembly, the DMK-led alliance, which has 157 MLAs, is poised to secure four of the six seats. Party insiders indicated that three candidates would be nominated by the DMK high command, while one seat will be allotted to its ally, the Indian National Congress, as per the alliance understanding. The Dravidian majors are expected to announce their candidates shortly.
The AIADMK-BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which has 69 MLAs, (AIADMK 62, BJP 4, PMK (Anbumani faction) 3 is expected to win two seats. To secure a Rajya Sabha seat, a candidate requires the support of 33 MLAs under the proportional representation system.
Meanwhile, political observers are closely watching developments within the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), where a vertical split has left two MLAs aligned with the senior Ramadoss faction yet to clarify their stand.
Across the nation, biennial polls will be held for 37 Rajya Sabha seats across 10 States. The Election Commission of India has announced that notifications will be issued on February 26. The last date for filing nominations has been fixed as March 5, while scrutiny of nomination papers will be undertaken on March 6. Candidates will have the option to withdraw their nominations until March 9.
Polling has been scheduled between 9 am and 4 pm on March 16. Counting will begin at 5 pm the same day.
The EC has specified that only integrated violet sketch pens of pre-determined specifications, supplied by the Returning Officer, will be allowed for marking preferences on ballot papers.
