Ahead of RS polls, Cong corrals Odisha MLAs in K'taka, Haryana netas in HP

Bengaluru/Chandigarh: Congress has packed off nine of its 14 Odisha MLAs to a Bengaluru resort and 32 of its Haryana legislators to the hills of Himachal Pradesh, kickstarting the familiar ritual of unscheduled political vacations as parties seek to ring-fence the pack from horse-trading ahead of the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls.

In Bhubaneswar, ex-CM Naveen Patnaik's BJD lined up mandatory evening meetings of its legislators for three days to ensure everyone stays in line. Both Congress and BJD are backing independent candidate Datteswar Hota for one of the four seats in the state among 37 in the country going to RS polls.

Odisha PCC president Bhakta Charan Das accompanied the Congress flock Friday to the resort at Bidadi in Bengaluru South that will be their home until at least the eve of the election. "Nine of our colleagues are on a leisurely weekend trip while five of us are here. You know how BJP is openly trying to trade MLAs. But our colleagues remain united," CLP chief Rama Chandra Kadam told TOI.



Karnataka deputy CM and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar, overseeing arrangements at Wonderla resort off Mysore Road, said the MLAs were brought to the city after BJP fielded a second candidate in the race for four seats. "There are concerns about cross-voting and attempts to influence MLAs with big offers," he said.

In the 147-member Odisha assembly, governing party BJP has 79 MLAs and is expecting support from three independents. Whereas, BJD has 48 legislators.

A candidate needs at least 30 first-preference votes to win a seat. Under this formula, two BJP candidates and one BJD candidate are expected to win comfortably. For the fourth seat, BJP has extended support to independent candidate Dilip Ray, a former Union minister.

In Haryana, 32 Congress MLAs assembled at the Chandigarh residence of CLP leader Bhupinder Hooda for a meeting in the presence of AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad and PCC president Rao Narender Singh. They took part in a voting drill before being herded into two buses that ferried them to Shimla, sources said.

Among the MLAs who haven't gone are Chandermohan, who is said to be unwell, and Olympian Vinesh Phogat. With 48 seats, BJP is confident its candidate, Sanjay Bhatia, will sail through. Congress, with 37 members, needs 31 first-preference votes for its candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh to win. Independent candidate Satish Nandal has skewed the equation for the second seat. Congress appears wary of a repeat of the 2022 defeat of Ajay Maken due to cross-voting.
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