By Express News Service
NEW DELHI/JAIPUR : With a day to go for the Rajya Sabha polls, the Congress is leaving no stone unturned to win seats in Haryana and Rajasthan, which will see contests due to the entry of the BJP backed Independents. It has reached out to Independent MLAs and regional parties and is doing man-man-man mapping to keep its flock together to prevent any cross voting.
The Rajasthan Congress MLAs have been shifted to a resort in Udaipur while Haryana MLAs have been camping in a resort in Raipur and would only return before the June 10 polling. One seat each in Haryana and Rajasthan will see a contest due to the entry of media barons Subhash Garg and Kartikeya Sharma as Independents from Rajasthan and Haryana respectively.
To keep the MLAs accommodated in the resorts, the Rajasthan government has been engaging them in activities like yoga, magic show, sports and musical events. The BJP has also shifted Rajasthan MLAs to a resort. Of the 4 seats, the Congress is sure to win two, BJP one seat and the contest if on the fourth seat while in Haryana, BJP is sure to get one and the contest is on the second seat.
The fight for the fourth seat in Rajasthan is getting messier. Anticipating horse-trading, the BJP complained to the ED about the use of black money by the Congress and demanded immediate action. In turn, the Congress wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner alleging horse-trading by BJP-backed Independent Subhash Chandra.
In a letter to the CEC, Congress deputy chief whip Mahendra Chaudhary referred to Chandra’s statements claiming support of some Congress MLAs and expressed concern that black money could come into play and Central agencies could be misused. To bolster his point, he also mentioned the episode of Chandra being elected to the RS six years ago in Haryana when he “changed his pen” and became an MP “through dubious means.”
In Haryana, the win on the second seat has become a prestigious issue for senior Congress leader Bhupider Singh Hooda. The party has fielded AICC general secretary Ajay Maken against BJP-backed Kartikeya Sharma.
Pitched battle for prestige Resort politics, allegations of horse-trading and cross-voting, complaints and counter complaints to the Election Commission — all factors that today characterise electoral politics in India have come into play in the Rajya Sabha elections, too. Despite the stakes not being too high — at least for the ruling BJP at the Centre — in the latest round of battle for the Upper House, efforts are being ramped up for every single vote. Both the BJP and the Congress have made it a prestige battle, especially in the states of Maharashtra , Rajasthan and Haryana. The Congress is keen to prove again that it can beat the BJP in the game of resort politics.
