JAIPUR: With Just two weeks left for elections on four Rajya Sabha seats, both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have swung into action finalising party candidates and managing their flock.
The poll picture seems clear with the Congress set to win on two seats and the BJP on one, comfortably. However, with the BJP deciding to contest for the fourth seat, it surely is not a cakewalk for the ruling Congress, which requires 15 more votes for the third seat in their kitty.
Elections to four seats of Rajya Sabha will be held on June 10 as the BJP’s Omprakash Mathur, K J Alphons, Ramkumar Verma and Harshvardhan Singh Dungarpur are going to complete their term on July 4.
Confident of getting support from independents and other MLAs, the Congress leaders are sure of winning the third Rajya Sabha seat, but on the other hand, the BJP is also not in a mood to leave its chances.
The state BJP leaders have requested the central leadership to field a candidate for the second seat. “The discussions are being done for finalising party candidates for Rajya Sabha polls. We may or may not field a candidate for the second seat as independent, if so, then will appeal to other MLAs to vote against the anti-people government,” said Satish Poonia, BJP state president.
{{/usCountry}}The state BJP leaders have requested the central leadership to field a candidate for the second seat. “The discussions are being done for finalising party candidates for Rajya Sabha polls. We may or may not field a candidate for the second seat as independent, if so, then will appeal to other MLAs to vote against the anti-people government,” said Satish Poonia, BJP state president.
{{/usCountry}}Staking claims on the third seat, Congress state chief Govind Singh Dotasara said there is no factionalism and the party unitedly will win three Rajya Sabha seats.
A Rajya Sabha candidate would require 41 votes to win. In the assembly, the Congress has 108 seats, BJP-71, CPI -2, RLP-3, BTP-2, RLD-1 and Independent -13.
The Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA is a minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, the 13 independents and the two MLAs of the Bharatiya Tribal Party had supported Congress during the political crisis in 2020. The stand of the Communist Party of India, or the CPI, is still not clear but they haven’t supported the BJP to date. The BJP, on the other hand, may get the support of the Rashtriya Loktrantik Party led by Hanuman Beniwal, who contested the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the BJP.
In the last Rajya Sabha polls held in March 2020, the elections were held for three seats. The became interesting with BJP leader Onkar Singh Lakhawat contesting as the second candidate without the party symbol. BJP leader Rajendra Gehlot was the official candidate. Lakhawat lost the election, BJP’s Gehlot, Congress’ KC Venugopal and Neeraj Dangi reached the upper house from Rajasthan.
A senior BJP leader said, “We have 30 surplus votes and how they are used will be seen soon. The BJP could win the second seat, looking at the Congress tussle.”
With the BJP considering fielding a second candidate, the chances are high that the ruling government once again would take their MLAs to resort. Earlier also, Congress had taken MLAs to hotels during the last Rajya Sabha polls after the political crisis.
Political analyst Manish Godha said the interesting aspect of this election is the fourth seat as both parties are short of the required numbers. With the Congress in power, they have better chances as they have the support of independent and other MLAs. The BJP is hopeful because it is the last major election before the assembly election in 2023, so they may get the support of independent and other MLAs.
Meanwhile, the state Congress leadership is recommending fielding all three candidates from Rajasthan, instead of an outsider, keeping in mind the assembly polls next year. The Congress is considering fielding candidates from OBC and SC categories.
The Congress names making the rounds are Gulam Nabi Azad, Sanjay Gujjar, Raghuveer Meena or Rameshwar Dudi. In the BJP, the candidate could be from Brahmin or Vaishya community, and chances are there for fielding a leader from Delhi.