To put its flock together ahead of the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls for 57 seats, the Congress has shifted its MLAs from Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Haryana to resorts to prevent “poaching” bids.
Seen as a battle of prestige between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress for Rajya Sabha berths across 15 States, the Congress fears the BJP might try to lure its MLAs.
The BJP is banking on independent MLAs for four additional seats and is seeking to capitalise on the infighting within the Congress. The entry of two independents — media barons Subhash Chandra in Rajasthan and Kartikeya Sharma in Haryana — has given a headache to the Congress managers.
Around 40 Rajasthan Congress MLAs and some independents have been lodged in a hotel in Udaipur. Four Rajya Sabha seats are at stake in Rajasthan. The Haryana Congress leadership has flown its 31 MLAs to the party-ruled Chhattisgarh to prevent poaching attempts.
However, Congress MLA from Haryana Kuldeep Bishnoi did not show up in the national Capital until the departure of flight to Raipur. With the entry of a third candidate — Kartikeya Sharma — as an Independent, the main Opposition party in Haryana does not want to leave anything to chance in order to secure one Rajya Sabha seat. Bishnoi is a close relative of Sharma.
The Rajya Sabha polling is being linked to the prestige of former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda as it will be his first challenge after the party appointed his loyalist Udai Bhan as the State unit chief in place of Kumari Selja.
In Karnataka too, the Congress is mulling the option of taking its MLAs to a resort.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot claimed that the Congress will win three out of four seats. He said the BJP is “playing tricks of horse-trading” but the party will not be successful.
The BJP has fielded additional candidates — Dhananjay Mahadik in Maharashtra and Lahar Singh in Karnataka — and is working on discontent within the Congress.
The battle in Karnataka has turned interesting as both parties are seeking to corner the JDS votes for the fourth seat. The BJP has 119 MLA votes to ensure the victory of its candidates Nirmala Sitharaman and actor-turned-politician Jaggesh.
The Congress too has enough votes to ensure victory of its candidate Jairam Ramesh. The party has fielded Mansoor Ali Khan, son of senior party leader Rahman Khan, and is wooing the JDS votes to bag the second seat.