Subhash Chandra -- the media baron contesting as a BJP-backed Independent candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan -- has claimed that he is going to win through crossvoting by Congress MLAs. Four Congress MLAs are already supporting him and "eight will crossvote" in his favour, he said.
The MLAs are "secretly in touch with me and I'm going to win the Rajya Sabha election," he told reporters in Jaipur this evening. He, however, refused to name any names.
Of the four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan, the Congress, with 108 MLAs in the House, is set to bag two and the BJP is set to win one.
With Mr Chandra in fray, the big race will be for a single seat, which the Congress is trying to retain.
The BJP has 71 MLAs and its surplus 30 votes will go to Mr Chandra, who also has the support of the three MLAs of the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP), a former NDA ally.
But despite the BJP and RLP support, Mr Chandra will need eight more MLAs to win the seat.
The Congress has claimed that it has the support of 123 MLAs – among them 12 Independents and two from the CPM. It, however, will need three more votes to be comfortable, for which they are eyeing the two MLAs of the Bhartiya Tribal Party.
Complaining about the possibility of horse trading by the BJP, the ruling Congress has already shifted its MLAs to a hotel in Udaipur, where they were seen enjoying dinner and a magic show last evening.
Mr Chandra, the 72-year-old Zee chairperson also had a message for Congress's Sachin Pilot, a long-time aspirant for the top job in the state.
Pointing out that Mr Pilot's father, Rajesh Pilot, was his friend, Mr Chandra said Sachin Pilot has an opportunity now, as a "young and popular leader". "He can use this as an opportunity to take revenge or send a message. If Sachin Pilot misses this opportunity, he will not be able to become a Chief Minister till 2028," he added.
Mr Pilot has dismissed Mr Chandra's claim as "laughable". "He has been fooled by the BJP into contesting and he will be humiliated... Subhashji, this is not a TV series or entertainment. This is serious business," the Rajasthan Congress leader told NDTV.
Mr Pilot, seen to be behind the party's revival in Rajasthan after its decimation by the BJP in 2011, was a contender for the Chief Minister's post. But he was persuaded to take the job of Ashok Gehlot's deputy by Rahul Gandhi after the party's victory in the 2018 assembly polls.
In 2020, Mr Pilot came close to toppling the Gehlot government with a month-long standoff, and was eventually persuaded to stand down.