CHANDIGARH: Ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana on Saturday moved its MLAs along with supporting Independent legislators to a private hotel in Chandigarh, triggering political speculation over preparations for the upcoming poll.
With the Rajya Sabha elections slated for March 16, the ruling BJP has moved its MLAs to the JW Marriott in Chandigarh. All the 48 legislators were called to Haryana Niwas for breakfast and from there they were taken to the hotel in a bus. It is learnt that Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Harsh Sanghavi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat who has been appointed by the BJP as an observer for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Haryana, had also gone to the hotel.
The saffron party has appointed Cabinet Minister Krishna Bedi as the election agent, while another minister Ranbir Singh Gangwa and MLA Yogender Rana will be the counting agents. Meanwhile, state Sports Minister Gaurav Gautam and MLA Sunil Sangwan have been appointed as party representatives and party agents.
Dismissing the speculation about secrecy surrounding the movement of MLAs, Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli said to the media that the gathering was part of a programme to brief legislators about the voting procedure for the Rajya Sabha election. `` A training programme is being held to explain the entire process of how voting will take place. We have nothing to hide. The party wants to ensure all BJP MLA's are fully prepared for the election process.’’
The elections will be held for two Rajya Sabha seats. For a candidate to win, they need 31 first preference votes. The BJP candidate, Sanjay Bhatia is expected to sail through smoothly. For the second seat of the Upper House from Haryana there will be a contest between Independent candidate Satish Nandal, who is backed by the BJP and Independents, and Congress candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh.
To prevent poaching of its MLAs, the Indian National Congress had already taken its 31 MLAs to Kufri in Himachal Pradesh. The party is also expected to hold a training session for its MLAs.