This Article is From Jun 09, 2022

In Resorts And Planes, MLAs On Move Ahead Of Rajya Sabha Polls: 10 Points

Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Karnataka each have at least one seat that is wide open and parties have pulled all stops to not make it easy for rivals.

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India News Edited by
Resort politics is back in full swing as parties herd their flock to deter horse-trading ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Haryana tomorrow. Results will be declared the same day.

Here's your 10-point guide to this big story:

  1. Shiv Sena MLAs in Maharashtra were moved to a resort ahead of the elections. Legislators from other Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) constituents -- Nationalist Congress Party, and Congress -- were also shifted to a resort as the ruling coalition ringfenced its MLAs before the voting to the upper house. 

  2. For the six seats up for grabs in Maharashtra, the ruling Shiv Sena has fielded two candidates - Sanjay Raut and Sanjay Pawar, while the opposition BJP has fielded three candidates - Union minister Piyush Goyal, Anil Bonde, and Dhananjay Mahadik. NCP and Congress have nominated one candidate each - Praful Patel and Imran Pratapgarhi respectively. 

  3. The Congress shifted its Rajasthan MLAs to Udaipur on June 2. They are staying at the same resort where the party recently hosted its brainstorming session (chintan shivir). The MLAs will move back to Jaipur this evening. Sources say a special flight is being organised to bring them back together as the party is not taking any chances. MLAs will stay together until Friday morning.

  4. BJP MLAs in Rajasthan are staying at a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur where they were this morning seen doing Yoga. The party said it's also organising training camps on how to vote correctly as minor mistakes can lead to the vote being junked. The legislators will stay at the resort till Friday morning when they will be brought back.

  5. In Rajasthan, Subhash Chandra -- the media baron contesting as a BJP-backed independent candidate -- has claimed that he is going to win through cross-voting by Congress MLAs.

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  7. In Karnataka, the Janata Dal (Secular) has moved its MLAs to a hotel in Bangalore's Whitefield area to prevent poaching. The party has 32 legislators. Around 20 are in the hotel and the remaining will join them today.

  8. In Karnataka, six candidates are contesting for four seats, leading to a heated contest. The BJP has fielded three candidates, Congress has fielded two candidates, and the Janata Dal (Secular) one. The ongoing tussle between the parties is for the sixth seat.

  9. After Congress flew its Haryana MLAs to a resort in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, the ruling BJP-JJP alliance has also summoned all its MLAs to the Oberoi Sukhvilas Spa Resort located on the outskirts of Chandigarh to discuss the strategy for the elections. The coalition has also asked six independent MLAs to join them at the resort. 

  10. The Congress MLAs will be flown to Delhi in a chartered flight this evening, sources said. They will be kept at the Rajasthan Bhavan or Chhatisgarh Bhavan overnight and ferried to Chandigarh in a Volvo bus tomorrow morning. 

  11. In Haryana's 90-member House, BJP has 40 MLAs, Congress has 31, and JJP has 10; there are seven Independents and one each from Indian National Lok Dal, and Haryana Lokhit Party.

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