Rajya Sabha polls: Independent still in fray, Haryana Congress may move MLAs to Himachal

Late in the evening, both the Congress and the BJP held meetings with their MLAs. While the Congress meeting was chaired by party affairs in-charge BK Hariprasad at Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s residence in Chandigarh, the BJP meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini at party office at Panchkula.

Haryana BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli told reporters that 17 spare votes of his party will go to the Independent candidate.

Fearing cross-voting, the Congress is likely to shift its legislators to an undisclosed location in Himachal Pradesh, multiple sources within the party told The Indian Express.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Hooda said the Congress had the required strength and the party nominee will comfortably enter the Rajya Sabha. He asked the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) to clarify its stand on whom it will extend their support in the March 16 polls. The INLD, meanwhile, is yet to take a decision on who to extend support in the upcoming polls.

Nandal had earlier claimed that will reach out to Congress MLAs for support. Asked that there were speculations that some Congress legislators may cross-vote, Hooda said, “Such speculations are only in the media.”

State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh said that the Congress has 37 MLAs and its candidate is assured of a win. “The BJP has put up its candidate. While Nandal may have entered the fray with the support of the three Independent MLAs, his candidature is also backed by the BJP,” he said.