New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- The Congress suffered a major setback in the Rajya Sabha elections held in three States on Tuesday, with party legislators in Himachal Pradesh ensuring victory for BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan, leading to the embarrassing loss of senior Congress leader and two-time Upper House member Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

There was a tie with 34 votes each for Mahajan and Singhvi, but a lottery proved lucky for the BJP nominee. Other States, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, also reported large-scale decisive cross-voting in favour of the BJP in UP and in favour of Congress in Karnataka, which sent three Congress MPs and one BJP member to the council of states.

Polling was held for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh, four in Karnataka, and one s...