With Rajya Sabha Elections Near, Congress Ferries Its MLAs To Resorts

As the crucial Rajya Sabha elections approach, resort politics is back in Rajasthan and Haryana where the Congress now has to fix its maths and keep its flock together. Around 40 Rajasthan Congress MLAs and some Independents today left for a hotel in Udaipur ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections on four seats. Wary of the possibility of cross-voting during the polling for two Rajya Sabha seats, the Congress has herded its Haryana MLAs to the party-ruled Chhattisgarh to protect them from poaching.

The Haryana MLAs are being flown to Raipur in Chattisgarh and in Rajasthan, the party is moving its MLAs and ally independents to the same Udaipur resort that hosted the party's chintan shivir or brainstorming session last month.

The party has decided to shift the MLAs to Udaipur fearing poaching by the BJP which, apart from fielding one official candidate, is backing media baron Subhash Chandra who has filed nomination as an Independent. Congress has fielded three candidates. Elections for four seats here will take place on June 10.

The MLAs boarded a luxury bus from the chief minister's residence in civil lines and left for Udaipur around 5 pm. The bus was escorted by a police team.

In Haryana, the Congress candidate Ajay Maken faces a challenge from businessman Kartikeya Sharma who made a last-minute entry as an independent. The party summoned all its 31 Haryana legislators to Delhi for a meeting on Thursday and they were taken to Chhattisgarh.

The party legislators arrived at the residence of Rajya Sabha MP Deepender Hooda in Delhi on Thursday. However, Adampur legislator Kuldeep Bishnoi did not reach the national capital, the sources said. Mr Bishnoi wasn't part of the group that left for Raipur either.

Mr Maken needs 31 votes to win but Kuldeep Bishnoi is playing truant.

Sources say it could be a very close call For Ajay Maken.

The congress candidates from Rajasthan are Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik, and Pramod Tiwari. However, BJP's wild card entry Subhash Chandra could upset the arithmetic.

Congress has 108 MLAs and with the support of the others, was at a comfortable 126 but now the numbers are not adding up. It needs extra 15 votes to make its third candidate Pramod Tiwari win. But now it cannot be sure that two MLAs from the Bharatiya Tribal Party, two from the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and all 13 independents will rally behind them even as the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleges that the CBI and the ED are being used to give notices to some of these MLAs.

While they are in Raipur and Udaipur, MLAs will be taught how to vote correctly for the Rajya Sabha election as even if one dot, line, or the colour of the ink is not right, it can lead to a vote being scrapped. 

All MLAs will also have to show to the party observer who they are voting for but despite such strict vigilance, this game could go either way.