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.
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.