Amid allegations of attempts at horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha elections in four states, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Thursday said special observers have been appointed to oversee the poll process which will be videographed.
Biennial elections to 57 Rajya Sabha seats were announced recently and all 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.
However, elections will be held for 16 seats of Haryana, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka on Friday as the number of candidates exceeds the seats going to polls.
Taking questions after announcing the schedule for the presidential election, Kumar said, "We have appointed special observers in all the four places (states). The entire process will be videographed."
Seeking to keep their flock together, major political parties have corralled their MLAs in hotels and resorts, amid accusations of attempts at poaching.
Maha RS Polls: Prestige Battle Between Shiv Sena, BJP
Amid impasse over RS seat, HDK reaches out to Cong
Malik, Deshmukh denied bail to vote in RS polls
Siddaramaiah urges JD-S MLAs to vote for Cong
RS poll: Parties sweat it out to keep flock together