Rajya Sabha elections; JDS shifts MLAs to resort
With the Rajya Sabha elections coming up tomorrow, all the JDS MLAs in Karnataka have been shifted to resorts. The MLAs were shifted to a private resort in Bengaluru. Thirty-two JDS MLAs were replaced. In Karnataka, there are six candidates in four seats. You need 45 votes to win.
The BJP can win two seats and the Congress one. The Congress and the BJP have fielded candidates to defend the JDS, which is expected to win the fourth seat. Who will win in the midst of these challenges is crucial. Meanwhile, the JADDS changed the candidates.
Apart from Karnataka, elections will be held in 16 seats in Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Political parties in Haryana, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have shifted MLAs to resorts for fear of horse-trading.
In Rajasthan, the Congress has 108 seats and the BJP 71 in the 200 – member assembly. Each candidate needs 41 votes to win. In terms of seats, the Congress can win two and the BJP one. Five of the four seats are up for grabs. The Congress needs 15 more votes to win all three candidates. Apart from its own candidate, the BJP needs 11 more votes to support Sea News owner Subhash Chandra, an independent. The Kaliponda Congress camp is worried about the army in the camp in bringing in candidates from outside. The position of small parties and independents will be crucial.
Haryana has two Rajya Sabha seats. The BJP, which has 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, secured one seat. With 31 votes needed to win, the Congress has exactly 31 seats. Three MLAs are challenging the party in protest of Ajay Maken’s candidature. Apart from its own candidate, the BJP is intensifying its competition by fielding NewsX chief Karthikeyan Sharma as an independent. The BJP hopes that the Congress MLAs who are protesting against McCann’s candidature will reconsider and win with the support of the BJP, the Haryana Lok Hit Party and some independents.
In Maharashtra, there are seven candidates for six seats. You need 42 votes to win. Mahavikas Aghadi, comprising Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP, has 152 seats. The BJP has 106 seats. Both the BJP and the NCP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena, the parties in the Mahavikas Aghadi, can win each seat. The BJP and Shiv Sena fielded one candidate each for the sixth seat. Anger is also strong in the Congress camp over the import of a candidate from UP.
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