Political activity has intensified in Uttar Pradesh ahead of elections for 10 Rajya Sabha seats. The NDA is expected to win seven seats, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) claims that it can secure three seats.

As the nomination process for the election to 10 Rajya Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh begins today (September 29), political activity has intensified in the state ahead of polling on October 16. Candidates can file their nomination papers until October 6, with each candidate allowed to submit up to four sets, each requiring the signatures of 10 MLAs. The Samajwadi Party has asked its MLAs to remain in Lucknow, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has held a core committee meeting and is expected to announce its candidates soon.

What numbers say for NDA and Samajwadi Party?
The Uttar Pradesh Assembly currently has an effective strength of 397 out of 403, as six seats are currently vacant. Each candidate needs 37 votes to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh. 

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) -- which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Anupriya Patel's Apna Dal (Sonelal), Jayant Chaudhary's Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), Om Prakash Rajbhar's Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) and Sanjay Nishad's Nishad Party -- has 294 members. With 294 MLAs, the NDA can easily secure seven seats, though it would fall short by two votes for an eighth seat, a situation that could lead to a deadlock.

On the other hand, the Samajwadi Party, along with Congress, has 103 MLAs. The SP-Congress bloc can secure two seats, but winning the third seat could depend on additional support, cross-voting and second-preference votes.

Rajya Sabha polls on October 16
As the October 16 polling date approaches, the political contest is expected to intensify, with parties working on candidate selection, alliances and support from smaller parties and unaffiliated MLAs. The Rajya Sabha elections will also come ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, adding to the political significance of the contest.

The terms of 10 Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh are set to expire on November 25. Of these, eight seats are currently held by the BJP, while the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) hold one seat each. Ten Rajya Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh are set to retire in November this year: Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Dinesh Sharma, Hardeep Singh Puri, Arun Singh, Banwari Lal Verma, Brij Lal, Neeraj Shekhar, Seema Dwivedi and Geeta Shakya, along with Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ram Gopal Yadav and Bahujan Samaj Party's (BSP) Ramji Gautam. Meanwhile, BJP's Naresh Bansal is set to retire from the Rajya Sabha from Uttarakhand in November this year.