News Analysis India

Tag: RS Elections

  • Arrival of media barons to the fray might queer the pitch for Congress in two RS seats

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: Nominations filed by two media barons — Subhash Chandra of Zee from Rajasthan and Kartikeya Sharma of NewsX from Haryana  — for the Rajya Sabha elections as independent candidates could spell trouble for the Congress in seats in Rajasthan and Haryana.  

    The independents filed their candidature on Tuesday, the last day for filing nominations.

    Sources said that things could tilt in favour of the duo keeping in mind the disquiet in the Rajasthan state unit over the nomination of candidates from outside, and in Haryana, where an upset party MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi has been meeting BJP leaders.

    The Congress was expecting to win 10 seats in all but now it could end up losing a seat in Haryana if cross-voting happens and another in Rajasthan if the independents decide to vote for Subhash Chandra with the support of BJP MLAs.

    The seat in Rajasthan is where Congress has fielded Pramod Tiwari and it will now see a contest with Chandra’s entry. Tiwari’s candidature was backed by general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

    In all, the elections are on for four seats in Rajasthan. The state assembly has 200 seats and a winning candidate will require 41 votes.

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    The Congress claims that it will manage 123 votes (needed to win three seats) while the BJP, having 71 MLAs, can win only one seat. The BJP needs 11 more votes to win a second seat which it is now angling for with Chandra’s arrival to the fray.

    The Congress has the support of 108 MLAs, including six BSP MLAs who merged with the Congress, 13 independents (many Gehlot supporters), two MLAs of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

    There are two MLAs from the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and three MLAs from Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP). Both are unlikely to vote for the BJP.

    “With independents in the fray, things can sway to any side. It is a calculated move by the BJP keeping in mind trouble in the state unit. After winning one seat (41 MLAs), another 30 BJP MLAs will be spared and Chandra would need 11 more to win the seat. He may get the support of independents and BTP and RLP’s support to make things difficult for the Congress’ plans to win a third seat,” said party sources.

  • Resort politics could return to Rajasthan as Congress, BJP gun for Rajya Sabha seats

    Express News Service

    JAIPUR: With nominations for four Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan having begun on Tuesday, both the Congress and BJP are preparing to lock up their MLAs in local resorts since the fourth seat could see a close tussle on voting day (June 10).

    In the polls, the ruling Congress, given their numbers in the state assembly, is all set to clinch two seats while the BJP is certain to win one. But then there is the fourth seat that has triggered talks of resort politics returning to a state seen by many as the hub of resort politics.

    The BJP is hoping to win this seat despite the Congress fielding candidates in three seats. Their reason for hope: the ongoing tussle between the camps of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former Deputy CM Sachin Pilot. 

    Although Congress still holds the advantage with more MLAs in their fold, the BJP’s announcement of not giving a walkover to their rivals could see both parties barricading their MLAs to prevent any poaching.

    Currently, Congress needs 82 votes to win two seats. However, as the Congress has 108 MLAs, it will still have 26 votes left for the third seat. This will leave the party with a shortfall of 15 votes.

    The Congress hopes to make up for it by banking on the support of the 13 Independent MLAs and one MLA from the Rashtriya Lok Dal, all of whom have been supporting the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government. Support can also come from the Communist Party of India (M) which has two votes and the Tribal Party of India which has two votes.

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    On Tuesday, CM Ashok Gehlot met a dozen independent MLAs to ensure their support for his party.

    In contrast, the BJP has 71 MLAs and this will ensure the party a victory in one seat. Although the BJP will be short by 11 votes for the second seat, given the high number of Independent MLAs and some cross-voting, the party is planning to give winning it a shot.

    Two years ago, former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot had stirred trouble for the government by revolting against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Pilot, along with his 18 MLAs, had camped in Gurgaon and Delhi hotels for a month.

    Though the BJP was supporting his rival from behind the scenes, CM Gehlot herded his MLAs into resorts and Pilot had to return to the Congress fold. Ever since, the allegiance of the Pilot camp has always been questioned.

    Ahead of the vote, the two parties, on the pretext of explaining the process of the Rajya Sabha elections, are set to keep their MLAs virtually as captives in resorts close to Jaipur.

    Rajendra Rathore, the Deputy Leader of Opposition, had sounded the poll bugle by announcing even before the nominations began that the BJP will not allow the second seat to go uncontested. He said, “BJP has thirty surplus votes. How those thirty votes will be used, will be revealed only when the time comes. Due to the conflict within the Congress, BJP can win the second seat.”

    As both parties decide the names of their candidates, the battle for the Rajya Sabha seats then is likely to create quite a political stir in the state and this may intensify by the time the Rajya Sabha voting concludes on June 10.