RS polls: Troubles for Cong in Rajasthan and Haryana
New delhi: The 'sudden' entry of media baron Subhash Chandra and Kartikeya Sharma — the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma — into fray for the Rajya Sabha polls has added fresh problems for the Congress, which is already facing the resentment of local leaders for fielding 'outsiders' from Rajasthan and Haryana.
Chandra, who had won his Rajya Sabha seat in 2016 from Haryana with the support of the BJP, has filed his papers from Rajasthan as the fifth candidate, while Sharma is in the fray for the two seats in Haryana as the third candidate.
The BJP has picked former Haryana Transport and Jails Minister Krishan Lal Panwar, who hails from Panipat, as its nominee from the state, while Congress has fielded Ajay Maken, who is facing the anger of local leaders.
Prior to the entry of Chandra and Sharma, the Congress was very much sure of winning three Rajya Sabha seats in Rajasthan and the victory of Maken was almost comfortable.
Given the present scenario emerged after Chandra, the chairperson of the Essel Group, filed his nomination paper, the Congress is now in a position to win two of the four seats in Rajasthan and the BJP is sure of the victory of its candidate Ghanshyam Tiwari, who is a former minister of the Vasundhara Raje cabinet.
There is going to be a tough contest for the fourth seat. Chandra will challenge Congress's Pramod Tiwari, who is facing the resentment of locals over being an "outsider" like two other nominees – Randeep Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik.
Chandra filed his nomination as an independent candidate this afternoon and he was endorsed by BJP MLAs.
In the 200-member Rajasthan assembly, each candidate needs 41 votes to win. The Congress has 108 MLAs and the BJP has 71 votes. The BJP has 30 surplus votes and to win a second seat, they need another 11, while Congress would need 15 more votes to win the third seat.
There are 13 independent MLAs who will play a key role in deciding the fate of the fourth candidate. Of the 13 independents, two are Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) members, two are of the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and two CPM MLAs. The BJP is banking on the independents, while Congress is hopeful of getting the support of smaller parties and the Left.
In the case of Haryana, Congress has 31 votes and a candidate needs to get at least 30 votes to win the seat. Though it appears a clear win for Maken, but no one is counting on Kuldeep Bishnoi who has not attended some key meetings of the party recently as he is not on the same page over the party's decision to give full control of the party in Haryana to Bhupinder Hooda.
Sharma, the son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma and incumbent Ambala Mayor Shakti Rani Sharma, is also the son-in-law of former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma. Venod Sharma was expelled from the party and now
The cross-voting may spoil the winning plan of Congress in Haryana as in a house of 90 MLAs, the winning RS quota is 31 and the Congress has only 31 seats which is an edge.
