Lucknow, Oct. 1 -- Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday kept the suspense alive over the likelihood of putting up a third candidate in the upcoming October 16 Rajya Sabha elections for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh.

He attacked the BJP, which is yet to name its candidates.

"The BJP can do anything. They can field nine or even 10 candidates," Yadav said, while parrying a query on his party's plan for a third candidate, a move that would force a contest in the biennial polls and open up the prospect of cross-voting.

Rajya Sabha elections are based on proportional representation and single transferable vote, which ensures that the surplus votes of winners are transferred to remaining candidates according to their second preferences.

This is why if a contest happens with more than 10 candidates in the fray, it will boil down to technicalities and astute planning, party leaders on both sides admit.

The benchmark to win one RS seat in UP depends on the number of vacant seats up for election, and the number of active and voting MLAs, but it usually stabilises around 37 first-preference votes.

The BJP currently has 255 MLAs in the Vidhan Sabha while the SP has 101. Three MLAs who defected to the BJP are currently unattached. BJP allies Apna Dal (S) has 13 MLAs, RLD has nine, SBSP has six, Nishad has five and the Jansatta Dal Loktantrik Party has two.

The SP's partner Congress has two MLAs. Seven seats are vacant.

The term of nine members to the Rajya Sabha from UP, including two Union ministers, will end on November 25 while one seat has fallen vacant as the BJP's Dinesh Sharma quit after becoming the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The BJP along with its allies and a few other friendly parties like Raja Bhaiya's Jansatta Dal Loktantrik looks set to ensure it wins eight candidates, with the SP bagging the remaining two seats.

After a recent party meeting, SP lawmaker Ravidas Mehrotra told PTI that all MLAs favoured putting up a third candidate.

"Due to resentment against the BJP's anti-people and divisive policies, all SP MLAs are confident that we will win even if we field a likely third candidate," Mehrotra said.

Sources said the BJP has purchased eight sets of nomination papers and may name candidates over the next few days. UP BJP in-charge Vinod Tawde arrived in Lucknow on Thursday once again to hold meetings with party leaders amid suspense over the names and number of candidates the party may field.

Tawde is also scheduled to meet Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and attend the party's core committee meeting on the issue.

October 6 is the last date for filing nominations, and if the SP does put up a third candidate, it will mean 11 candidates will be in the fray. A similar scenario will emerge if the BJP fields more than eight candidates in a bid to win an extra seat to gain a psychological edge over the SP ahead of 2027 UP assembly polls.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.