Rajya Sabha elections: Stakes high, Haryana Congress may shift MLAs to Chhattisgarh 'to rule out horse-trading'

Geetanjali Gayatri & Bhartesh Singh Thakur
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 1

In a high-stakes battle for one of the two seats of the Rajya Sabha and amid speculations of Congress MLAs being moved to a “safe place” outside Haryana to rule out horse-trading before the polling on June 10, the party’s state leadership has called a meeting in Delhi tomorrow.

Sources said the MLAs could be moved to Raipur, Chhattisgarh, though nothing about “further movement” had been conveyed to them so far. “As of now, the message is to reach Delhi on Thursday. Nothing more has been conveyed,” a Congress legislator said.

Asked if they are taking luggage along, another MLA said, “There is no such message so far. However, all MLAs have been called to Delhi by Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda at his residence. We don’t know anything beyond that.”

Keen contest

The BJP appears to be all set to win one RS seat easily

For the second seat, the contest is likely between Cong’s Ajay Maken and Independent candidate Kartikeya

Maken’s win is seen linked to BS Hooda’s prestige, while Kartikeya is son of Haryana Jan Chetna Party leader Venod Sharma

A senior MLA, however, claimed that all party MLAs could be moved to Raipur since the party didn’t want to leave anything to chance.

With three candidates in the fray for two RS seats, stakes are particularly high for Hooda and Haryana Jan Chetna Party (V) leader Venod Sharma, while the BJP is all set for an easy win.

Sources in the Congress said party nominee Ajay Maken should have no trouble winning since his win was directly linked to Hooda’s prestige. “Hooda has been reiterating that the party will win this election because Maken’s win is equally important for him. This is the first test for Hooda since the party high command gave in to his demand of replacing the state chief and appointed his loyalist Udai Bhan, while he got to retain his position as Leader of the Opposition,” a senior leader said.

For Sharma, it will be more of a "comeback poll" if his son and Independent candidate Kartikeya manages to pull off a win. Sharma, after quitting the Congress in 2013, has been looking to establish his party at the state level and this win could be the much-needed shot in the arm for him.

Sources said Kartikeya going ahead and filing his papers was especially interesting since the father-son duo knew they didn't have the numbers yet.

While the JJP has supported Kartikeya's nomination, as have some Independent MLAs, the Bharatiya Janata Party also does not seem averse to the idea of supporting him, though a decision on the issue is likely shortly. However, that will not be enough and will require further "management”.

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