The Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said special observers have been appointed to oversee the June 10 Rajya Sabha poll process which will be videographed, against the backdrop of allegations of horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha elections in four states. Biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently and 41 candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand were declared elected unopposed last Friday.
Elections will be held for 16 seats of Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Friday as the number of candidates exceeds seats going to the polls. Seeking to keep their flock together, major political parties have herded their MLAs to hotels and resorts.