New Delhi, Mar 24: Elections to the 59 seats of Rajya Sabha were held on Friday. While 33 candidates were elected unopposed, a contest was witnessed for the remaining 26 berths in the Parliament's Upper House. The parties whose candidates were deployed in the fray had tasked their assembly chief whips and state-unit in-charge to prevent defection from their ranks.

The polls were marred with controversy in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, where at least two MLAs each cross-voted in favour of the BJP.

BJP emerged as maximum gainer in this round of the polls, sending a total of 27 nominees to the Upper House, followed by Congress, whose 10 MPs were elected.

Rajya Sabha Elections 2018: Full List of State-Wise Winners

The BSP's lone candidate in the fray, Bhim Rao Ambedkar, was stalled from entering the Rajya Sabha as a couple of MLAs from the SP-BSP combine voted in favour of the BJP. In his place, the saffron party succeeded in getting its ninth nominee - businessman Anil Agarwal - elected through second preference votes.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 24, 2018 10:59 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).