Lucknow, April 8 The stage is set for elections to 36 seats of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, polling for which will take place on Saturday.
The ruling BJP has already unanimously won nine of the 36 council seats.
The results will be declared on April 12.
The BJP had 35 MLCs in the 100-member Council and the nine seats have now taken its tally to 44. The party is only seven short of majority.
The Samajwadi Party has 17 members while the BSP has four and the Congress and BJP allies Apna Dal(S) and Nishad Party have one member each. Two members belong to the teachers' group (non-political) and two are Independent.
The Legislative Council has 37 seats vacant and elections are being held for 36 seats through local bodies.
One seat fell vacant following the death of SP MLC and leader of opposition Ahmad Hassan during the assembly polls.
A senior BJP functionary said: "If the BJP gets a majority in both Houses, passing of bills will be easy and the government will further cement its position in the state legislature."
The BJP has been making a concerted effort to sweep the polls.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has held virtual meetings with party's elected representatives.
He has appealed to MLAs, zila panchayat members, block development council members, mayors, municipal chairpersons, village pradhans and corporators to work for the victory of the BJP's candidates.
All ministers, MLAs and MPs have been asked to reach out to the voters to ensure an impressive victory.
BJP's state organisational secretary Sunil Bansal and his team are keeping a close eye on the day-to-day campaigning for the Council polls.
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