The Congress will issue a whip to its 114 MLAs for the March 26 polls to three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, a minister said today, hours after the ruling party accused the BJP of taking some of its MLAs to Haryana in a bid to destabilise the Kamal Nath-led government.
The BJP has denied the charge, saying it is not trying to topple the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh.
"We are going to issue a whip and if any of our lawmaker violates it, his membership will be scrapped in just one hour," state Legislative Affairs Minister Govind Singh said.
Cross-voting will not be tolerated at any cost, the minister said.
Usually, political parties do not issue whip for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh, who lost the the last year's Lok Sabha poll from Bhopal to BJP's Pragya Thakur, may seek re-election to the Upper House of Parliament, party sources said.
The Congress may field former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also in the Rajya Sabha polls, they said. Mr Scindia lost the Lok Sabha election last year from Guna seat in the state.
The BJP is likely renominate former Union minister and Dalit leader Satyanarayan Jatiya for the Rajya Sabha polls, sources said.
The three Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in the state are currently held by Digvijaya Singh (Congress), Satyanarayan Jatiya and Prabhat Jha (both from BJP).
The BJP is set to make all efforts to retain the two seats, while the Congress wants to take its tally to two from one, as it has more legislators this time around.
In the 230-member Assembly, the Congress has 114 MLAs, followed by the BJP- 107. The simple majority mark is 116.
The Congress-led state government has the support of four Independent MLAs, two Bahujan Samaj Party legislators and one of the Samajwadi Party.
Two seats are currently vacant following the demise of a Congress and a BJP legislator. Members of a state Legislative Assembly vote in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Caste Survey, Rs 2,000 A Month For Women Among Congress's Haryana Promises Opinion: Opinion | Rahul's Rhetoric Dents India's Global Image Ajay Maken Files Complaint Against BJP Leaders Over Threats Against Rahul Gandhi In Big Step Towards One Nation, One Election, Cabinet Clears Plan Explained: How Pagers Turned Bombs And Why Israel Is Being Blamed New XEC Covid Variant Spreads To 27 Countries, Here's What We Know So Far Veterinarian Warns Against Owning These 5 Dog Breeds Due To Health Concerns What Pager Attack On Hezbollah Could Mean For Volatile Middle-East Massive Asteroid's Near-Earth Approach In 2029. But There's A Bigger Danger Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.