RS poll: Congress may shift its Haryana MLAs to resort to prevent cross-voting
Independent candidate backed by BJP banks on possible defections
To avoid the embarrassment of cross-voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election, the Congress is likely to shift its MLAs to a resort or hotel, possibly in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh or another Congress-ruled state. Karnataka is also being considered, though it is relatively far from Haryana.
The Congress currently has 37 MLAs in the 90-member Assembly. For its candidate, Karamvir Singh Boudh, to win, the party requires 31 first-preference votes. However, Satish Nandal, who is contesting as an Independent and is reportedly backed by the BJP, is banking on possible cross-voting by Congress legislators.
With two Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant from Haryana and 90 MLAs in the Assembly, a candidate needs 31 votes to secure victory. The BJP nominee, Sanjay Bhatia, is expected to win comfortably as the party has 48 MLAs. The contest is likely to intensify for the second seat.
The Congress is cautious this time, given its past experiences in Rajya Sabha elections. In the 2022 Haryana Rajya Sabha election, cross-voting led to the defeat of Ajay Maken, who is currently the party’s national treasurer. At that time too, the Congress had shifted its MLAs to Chhattisgarh to prevent defections. The party alleged that Kuldeep Bishnoi had cross-voted, while an invalid vote was linked to Kiran Choudhry.
An earlier setback occurred during the 2016 Haryana Rajya Sabha election ink controversy, when 12 votes marked with different ink were declared invalid, resulting in the defeat of Congress-backed Independent candidate RK Anand.
Party sources said BK Hariprasad is expected to join the MLAs on Monday, after which a final decision will be taken. “They will be brought back on voting day, March 16,” said a senior MLA.
Rajya Sabha elections follow an open ballot system, meaning MLAs cannot be disqualified from the Assembly for cross-voting. Referring to the Kuldip Nayar vs Union of India, the Supreme Court of India had observed:
“The contention that the right of expression of the voter at an election for the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) is affected by open ballot is not tenable, as an elected MLA would not face any disqualification from the Membership of the House for voting in a particular manner. He may, at the most, attract action from the political party to which he belongs.”
