BSP directs Rajasthan MLAs to vote for Independent in RS polls | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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BSP directs Rajasthan MLAs to vote for Independent Subhash Chandra in Rajya Sabha polls

Jun 05, 2022 12:31 AM IST

The six MLAs in Rajasthan who won on Bahujan Samaj Party tickets but walked over to the ruling Congress must now vote for the independent candidate, according to the party whip.

The six MLAs in Rajasthan who won on Bahujan Samaj Party tickets but walked over to the ruling Congress must now vote for the independent candidate, media baron Subhash Chandra, in the elections to the Rajya Sabha, the state unit of the BSP said in a whip issued on Saturday.

File Photo of media baron Subhash Chandra who will contest as an independent candidate from Rajasthan for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)
File Photo of media baron Subhash Chandra who will contest as an independent candidate from Rajasthan for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls. (Vipin Kumar/HT PHOTO)

“You have won on the BSP symbol, and therefore are bound to work as per the party whip,” BSP state president Bhagwan Singh Baba said in the whip to Rajendra Gudha, Lakhan Meena, Deepchand Kheria, Sandeep Yadav, Joginder Awana and Wajib Ali.

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Also Read | Media baron Subhash Chandra files for RS seat in Rajasthan, to be backed by BJP

“In the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, the party has decided not to support Congress and BJP as it doesn’t agree with their policies, and will oppose their candidates,” Baba said in the whip. “In such a situation, the MLAs of BSP will vote for independent candidate.” Action will be taken against those disobeying the whip, he warned.

Elections for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Rajasthan will be held on June 10.

The Congress has fielded three candidates in Rajasthan -- Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Pramod Tiwari. The BJP has named former state minister Ghanshyam Tiwari as its candidate, apart from deciding to support Chandra’s candidature. The ruling Congress, with 108 MLAs in the assembly, is set to win two of the four seats outright, and the BJP is set to win one.

The Congress will then have 26 surplus votes, but 15 short of the required 41 to win the third seat. The BJP, which has 71 MLAs, will be left with 30 surplus votes after securing its seat. There are 13 independents in the assembly, with the Communist Party of India (CPI) having two seats, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) three, the Bharatiya Tribal Party two, and the Rashtriya Lok Dal one.

The six BSP lawmakers joined the Congress in 2019, and the matter of their defection is in the courts, political analyst Manish Godha said.

In such a situation, issuing a whip doesn’t make any sense, Godha said. It is clear that the MLAs will vote in favour of the Congress candidates as one of them is minister of Sainik Kalyan , and another has been made chairman of the Devnarayan Board, Godha said. The board works for social justice and empowerment.

Meanwhile, fearing horse trading, the Congress has shifted its MLAs and those supporting its candidates, including independents, to a hotel in Udaipur.

Of the six MLAs, only one, Joginder Awana, is in Udaipur. The remaining five are in Jaipur. Sainik kalyan minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, Rajendra Gudha, had expressed resentment on Friday, saying the MLAs from BSP did not get due respect in the Congress.

“Everything is under control” and all the three candidates of the party will win, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said on Saturday on his arrival in Udaipur. Chief minister Gehlot is scheduled reach Udaipur on Sunday.

Of the 13 independent MLAs in the state assembly, 12 are in the Udaipur hotel, according to people in the know who declined to be named.

Congress leaders claim 126 MLAs, including 108 belonging to the party, are supporting its candidates. It requires 123 votes to win three seats to the Rajya Sabha.

A Rajya Sabha candidate would require 41 votes to win. In the assembly, the Congress has 108 seats, the BJP 71, Communist Party of India two , RLP 3, BTP 2, RLD 1 and independent 13.

Meanwhile, Chandra, the independent candidate backed by the BJP, is banking on independent MLAs to take him to the Rajya Sabha. The three MLAs of RLPwill support the media baron, which still leaves him short of eight votes to win, after accounting for the support of 30 votes from the BJP, said people familiar with the developments.

Chandra is counting on support from independents who share the ideology of the BJP and its parent the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, they said, requesting anonymity.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Sachin Saini is Special Correspondent for Rajasthan. He covers politics, tourism, forest, home, panchayati raj and rural development, and development journalism.

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