Poaching fears, resort politics mark Rajya Sabha election eve
In Bihar, the BJP is making strong efforts to ensure the victory of its third candidate, Shivesh Kumar, despite insufficient NDA numbers. The NDA is certain to win four seats and is pushing for a fifth. Kumar is seeking three votes from non-NDA MLAs to secure the seat. Various meetings were held at the NDA camp from Sunday morning to late evening. “We are confident that our candidate will get the required number of votes to win the fifth seat,” senior JDU leader Vijay Choudhary told ET.
Also Read: All NDA candidates in Bihar to win by huge margins for Rajya Sabha polls: JD(U)
Meetings also continued in the Opposition camp for incumbent RJD candidate AD Singh. INDIA bloc has 35 votes including RJD, Congress, CPI-ML and IIP. He needs six additional votes and is counting on the support of five AIMIM MLAs and one BSP MLA. The opposition held a meeting with its MPs at a hotel in Patna, where it was decided that they would stay and proceed with direct voting on Monday. “We have the numbers. NDA is trying to break the unity of the Opposition but has failed,” Singh told ET.
In Odisha, the Congress on Thursday shifted some MLAs to Bengaluru. On Sunday, two persons from Odisha were handed over to the police in Bengaluru for allegedly trying to influence the remaining Odisha Congress MLAs there by offering Rs 5 crore each to vote in favor of the BJP in the elections. BJP leader and former Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik held meetings at his residence in the evening. While the BJP is confident of the victory of its candidates Sujit Kumar and Manmohan Samal, the BJD is confident of the victory of its candidate Santrupt Misra. The contest between the BJP and the joint opposition of BJD, Congress and CPI-M is for the fourth seat. While the BJP has backed Dilip Ray, Datteswar Hota is the joint candidate of the Opposition.
Also Read: Rajya Sabha polls: Congress MLAs offer Rs 5 crore for cross-voting, says DK Shivakumar
In Haryana, the Congress shifted 31 of its 37 MLAs to Shimla a day before the polls. Due to bad weather conditions, the MLAs were later moved to Kasauli. The BJP also kept its MLAs at a hotel in Chandigarh and party sources told ET that the MLAs were trained on the voting process. Three candidates are running for two seats. BJP is confident of Sanjay Bhatia’s victory. The contest for the second seat will be between Congress’s Karamveer Baudh and BJP-backed Satish Nandal. A candidate must receive 31 votes to win. The BJP has 48 MLAs and will be left with 17 after voting for Bhatia. With the support of two INLD MLAs and three independents, the total tally reaches 22 and the party still falls short of nine votes. Congress can easily ensure the victory of its candidate Karamveer Baudh with 37 MLAs.
Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections will be held on Monday morning and the results will be declared on the same day.
