Parties to train MLAs on RS preferential voting system

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[google-translator]

Mumbai With the voting for Rajya Sabha election set to happen after 24 years on June 10, all four prominent parties are holding training sessions for the members of legislative assembly (MLA) on how to vote in the preferential voting system.

As it is a close contest, parties do not want to take any chances with invalid votes or mistakes for the six seats in the fray. This year, after 1998, MLAs need to cast their votes for the seats at the upper house of the parliament as seven candidates are in the poll fray for six seats- three from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), two from Shiv Sena and one each from Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.

The NCP has given a basic idea of the election process to its MLAs and is planning a training session on Thursday. “We have been given general information about the poll process and demonstration and the actual training session is expected to be held on Thursday,” said a senior NCP MLA, wishing not to be named. To deter horse-trading, most of the NCP MLAs are lodged in a hotel in Powai.

“The MLAs are expected to be informed about the first and second preferences so that the party’s candidate is elected without any hitch and the additional votes can be transferred to other candidates smoothly,” he added.

A similar training session for Congress legislators is expected to be held on Thursday at another Powai hotel, where they will continue to stay till June 10. “Senior leaders are going to conduct a training session for the MLAs. They will be told about the first and second preference of votes and their importance,” said a Congress minister privy to the development.

“Since polling is on Friday, the MLAs will be given training-cum-demonstration on Thursday. It has become necessary since there are many new MLAs elected this time,” said a senior Sena MLA, on the condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, the parliamentary affairs minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Parab said that they will inform MLAs about voting since Rajya Sabha elections are going to happen after a very long time and to avoid any technical issue during polling.

The voting for Rajya Sabha polls is based on a proportional representation system where surplus votes of the elected candidates can be transferred to others. It allows a voter, which is an MLA, to choose any number of candidates in order of preference.

A candidate needs to secure a specified number of first preference votes to win the elections, which depends upon the number of voters. In Maharashtra, a candidate is required to secure at least 42 votes (4,200 points) to get elected to Rajya Sabha. The value of each preference vote is 100 points.

There are seven candidates in the fray for six seats. Based on their strength, the three ruling parties can get one nominee elected each while BJP can get two on its own. With both sides having surplus votes, the battle is on for the sixth seat for which Sena and BJP have fielded candidates. The role of 29 Independent and small-party MLAs is crucial.


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