The North News
Chandigarh, March 12
The INLD, which is yet to clear its stand in the March 16 polls for the two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana, on Wednesday said a decision will be taken according to the sentiments of the people.
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) has to decide whether it will extend its support to any contesting candidate or abstain in the ensuing polls.
After the last date for withdrawal of nominations for the two Rajya Sabha seats ended on Monday, the BJP, Congress and an Independent candidate are left in the fray for the polls.
Sanjay Bhatia of the BJP, Congress’ Karamvir Singh Boudh and Independent candidate Satish Nandal are in the fray, officials said.
Sources said that the Congress may move its MLAs to Himachal Pradesh on Friday after a meeting here on that day and they will return shortly before the polling.
Two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana are falling vacant. BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.
INLD chief Abhay Singh Chautala on Wednesday said that as far as Rajya Sabha polls go, he has held consultations with his party colleagues and everyone gave their opinion.
“In the end, everyone said they would leave the decision to me,” he said.
“I have to speak to more people… We will decide according to the sentiments of the common people,” Chautala said.
At the same time, he said, “Today, people are fed up with both the BJP and the Congress.”
Lashing out at Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who often accuses the INLD of being the “B” team of the BJP, Chautala said, “In these (Rajya Sabha) polls, both A and B teams will be known and very clearly so.”
“Hooda should think about his age before giving such statements,” he said.
The ruling BJP has 48 MLAs, Congress has 37, the INLD has two MLAs and three legislators are Independents in the 90-member Haryana assembly, with 31 votes each required for two candidates to make it to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana.
Hooda had on Monday said that the Congress has the required strength of members to ensure the win of their party’s nominee and had asked the INLD to clarify their stand on whom they will extend their support in the March 16 polls.
“The INLD keeps saying that it is against the BJP and the Congress. They should clarify whom they will vote for in these polls or whether they will abstain… they should clarify their stand,” Hooda had said.
With the Independent candidate claiming that he will also reach out to Congress MLAs for support, Hooda, when asked whether there were speculations that some Congress legislators may cross-vote, had replied, “Such speculations are only in the media.”
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh too had said that the Congress has 37 MLAs and its candidate is assured of a win.
Meanwhile, sources said that the Congress MLAs will meet here on Friday after which they are likely to be taken to Himachal for the next two days.
The Congress with 37 members in the Assembly has the required strength to help its candidate win a seat. The prospects, however, could be in jeopardy in case of cross-voting.
Nandal, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2019 assembly polls as a BJP nominee, on Thursday filed his nomination as an Independent, becoming the third entrant in the contest after Sanjay Bhatia and Karamvir Singh Boudh.
With Nandal throwing his hat in the ring, the polls are set to witness an interesting contest.
Polling will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm and votes will be counted from 5 pm the same day.
Nandal would need 17 second preference votes of the BJP, three votes of the Independent MLAs, two votes of the INLD and at least eight votes of the Congress legislators for victory.
Nandal had lost to Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi constituency in Rohtak district in the 2019 assembly polls. Before joining the BJP, he was also with the INLD.
BJP’s Bhatia (58), a former Lok Sabha MP from Karnal, is considered a confidant of Union minister and former Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
Congress’ Boudh, a retired Haryana government employee, has been a Dalit activist who has raised issues pertaining to the community on various platforms.
Currently, the coordinator of the National Scheduled Castes department of the Congress, Boudh is learnt to be the choice of party leader Rahul Gandhi.
