New Delhi: The fate of two Congress candidates for Rajya Sabha — one in Rajasthan and another in Haryana — is uncertain as the party is struggling to get numbers in the election which is slated to be held on June 10. The party is struggling to keep its flock together in Haryana after Adampur MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi skipped meeting of MLAs.
Bishnoi is slated to meet Rahul Gandhi as he is upset after being denied state President’s post and has been saying that he will only take a decision after meeting Rahul Gandhi. The Congress in Haryana has 31 MLAs, the exact number required to win a Rajya Sabha seat, but if Bishnoi is not placated, Congress candidate Ajay Maken may lose election. Kuldeep Bishnoi is not responding to calls but he has been critical to Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the former chief minister of the state.
The two candidates who have given sleepless nights to Congress are media baron and BJP supported Independent candidate Subhash Chandra in Rajasthan and Kartikaya Sharma, BJP supported Independent candidate in Haryana.
The ruling party in Rajasthan is tense. The Congress was thinking of an easy win on three seats, while for the BJP at least one Rajya Sabha seat was assured. In an attempt to save their MLAs from being poached, the Congress has taken them to Udaipur as a part of political fencing.
The Congress was caught by surprise after the BJP backed Independent candidate for one of the two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana upset its calculations. Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma is likely to get votes from the JJP, apart from the surplus BJP votes.
The Congress on Sunday appointed observers in Haryana, Maharashtra and Rajasthan for Rajya Sabha polls.
Leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge has been appointed observer for Maharashtra, Pawan Bansal and T.S. Singhdeo for Rajasthan and Bhupesh Baghel and Rajeev Shukla for Haryana. The Congress in Haryana has moved the party MLAs to Chhattisgarh to protect them from being poached by the BJP-backed Independent candidate ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled on June 10.
–IANS