NEW DELHI: With the countdown for the Rajya Sabha biennial elections beginning, the spotlight has shifted to Odisha, Bihar, and Haryana, which have emerged as key battlegrounds between the ruling NDA and the Opposition alliance for three crucial seats.
With fears of horse-trading and cross-voting looming large, parties, particularly the Congress, have resorted to ‘resort politics’ and shifted their MLAs to different states to keep their flock together until polling day.
Out of the 37 seats going to polls, 26 candidates have already been elected unopposed, including NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar and Union minister Ramdas Athawale.
Polling for the remaining 11 seats, five in Bihar, four in Odisha, and two in Haryana, will be held on March 16.
The numbers are stacked in favour of the NDA for four seats in Bihar, two in Odisha, and one in Haryana, giving the ruling alliance a comfortable edge. All eyes are on the remaining three seats, where both the Opposition and the NDA are locked in a close contest to secure an additional seat in the Upper House.
The contest in Haryana has become tighter with three candidates vying for two vacant seats. While the Congress has fielded Karmavir Singh Boudh, the BJP has nominated Sanjay Bhatia. The third candidate is contesting as an independent.
In the 90-member Assembly, the BJP has 48 MLAs, the Congress 37, the INLD two, and three Independents. A candidate requires at least 31 votes to win. While the Congress has already shifted 32 MLAs to Himachal Pradesh, in Odisha too the party has moved eight of its MLAs to Karnataka.
Odisha is also witnessing a contest for one seat as two candidates, one each from the ruling BJP and the opposition BJD, are in the fray. The presence of an independent with the BJP’s support has sparked the possibility of cross-voting.
Bihar is also set for a tight contest, with the RJD fielding its nominee for one of the five vacant seats. In the 243-member Assembly, the Opposition alliance, including the RJD, Congress, and Left parties, commands 35 MLAs.
To secure the fifth seat, the Opposition would require the support of all five AIMIM MLAs as well as the lone BSP MLA. With the possibility of cross-voting looming, the NDA appears to have an edge.
Other heavyweights likely to be elected from Bihar include the state’s longest-serving Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and BJP president Nitin Nabin.