Muristek
Rajya Sabha race: Congress woos Kuldeep Bishnoi in Haryana, independents in Rajasthan
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, June 5
Ahead of June 10 Rajya Sabha elections for 16 seats in four states, the Congress on Sunday appointed party observers in Haryana, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra to see the official candidates through.
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and Congress Himachal Pradesh in-charge Rajeev Shukla will oversee the RS election in Haryana; former union minister Pawan Bansal and Chhattisgarh health minister TS Singhdeo in Rajasthan.
Parallel to this, the Congress continues to woo MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi, who had skipped the nomination filing process of official candidate Ajay Maken in Haryana, thus raising anxieties. Rahul Gandhi is personally said to have spoken to Bishnoi, who has kept his cards close to the chest.
In Rajasthan, too, the party is actively wooing independents who will determine the victor. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Sunday met six MLAs who were elected on BSP tickets and later merged in the Congress and claimed their support even though the BSP issued a whip yesterday asking them to vote for BJP nominees in the state.
In both Rajasthan and Haryana, the RS election race could go down to the wire, with more candidates in the fray than seats.
For four seats in Rajasthan, five people are contesting. While the BJP is backing former minister Ghansyham Tiwari and independent media baron Subhash Chandra, Congress has fielded Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari in that order.
An RS winner in a 200-member Rajasthan assembly needs 41 votes, with Congress strength being 108 MLAs and BJP 71 MLAs.
Independents hold the key in Rajasthan, where the Congress has shifted over 40 odd MLAs to an Udaipur resort to stall any horse trading attempts and has claimed it has 126 MLAs behind it.
In the 90-member Haryana assembly, the first winner needs 31 votes and the second 30, with Maken counting on all 31 Congress MLAs, including Bishnoi.
Elections are also to be held in Maharashtra for six seats and in Karnataka for four.