Six MLAs along with key leaders stay back

Chandigarh:  With anxiety mounting in the Haryana Congress camp over the possibility of cross-voting and alleged attempts to poach its MLAs, the party leadership has moved into damage-control mode ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16.

Following the lunch, most Congress MLAs left in a traveler bus and were reportedly moved to a secure location in Congress-ruled Himachal Pradesh — a common “resort politics” strategy to isolate them from rival contacts until polling day. However, not all MLAs joined the trip to Himachal Pradesh. According to reports Congress MLAs Chandra Mohan and Mohammad Ilyas will not travel due to health issues, Vinesh Phogat will stay back because her child is very young, Kuldeep Vats will also not go, as there is a wedding in his family and Paramvir Singh and Bhupinder Singh Hooda will also not travel to Himachal Pradesh.

The remaining 32 MLAs have reportedly proceeded to the hill state under tight security arrangements.

With the party holding 37 MLAs in the 90-member Haryana Assembly, even a single instance of cross-voting could derail its plans to secure the lone Rajya Sabha seat it is targeting.

Party sources admitted that the entry of a third candidate in the contest has complicated the electoral arithmetic and heightened concerns about possible defections or pressure tactics. Against this backdrop, Hooda’s lunch diplomacy is aimed at reinforcing discipline within the legislative party and ensuring that every vote stays firmly in the Congress camp.

According to insiders, the gathering will not merely be a routine interaction but a closed-door strategy session where voting procedures and possible scenarios will be discussed in detail. Senior leaders are expected to caution MLAs against falling prey to what they describe as “political poaching” attempts by rival camps.

The Congress leadership is particularly wary of any repeat of past embarrassments that have haunted the party during Rajya Sabha elections in the state. Memories of the controversial 2016 episode—when several Congress votes were declared invalid due to the use of unauthorised pens, resulting in a humiliating defeat—continue to loom large over the party’s current strategy.

Sources said arrangements have already been made in the Congress-ruled hill state to host the Haryana MLAs at a secure location until polling day.

Notably, special arrangements are also being made for the party’s women MLAs, who are likely to be accompanied by family members during the stay. Several legislators have reportedly begun preparations for the trip, awaiting the final signal from the party high command.

The Congress has fielded Dalit leader Karamvir Singh Boudh as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha seat, making the contest politically significant for the party as it attempts to reassert its presence in Haryana’s political landscape. For Hooda, the election is also being seen as a test of his ability to keep the legislative party united amid intense political pressure.

With the ruling BJP closely watching the developments and the numbers remaining tight, this weekend is expected to witness heightened political maneuvering. For the Congress, however, the immediate priority is clear to keep its MLAs together and prevent any cracks in the ranks that could alter the outcome of the Rajya Sabha battle. On the other hand the BJP has also directed all it’s MLAs to remain present at Chandigarh during the weekend and it is learnt that three Independents will also join the BJP law makers.

The race for the two Rajya Sabha seats took a dramatic political turn, with the entry of an independent candidate and BJP leader Satish Nandal,  transforming a routine one-seat-each contest between the ruling BJP and the Congress into a high-stakes battle marked by speculation over cross-voting and shifting political equations.

While the BJP and Congress had initially appeared comfortably placed to secure one seat each, the surprise candidature of BJP leader from Rohtak Satish Nandal as independent contender on the last day of nominations has altered the political arithmetic and injected fresh uncertainty into the contest. It is learnt that the Nandal’s candidature came after his meeting with top party leaders from the state.

The development has added to the concerns of the Congress candidate as the party had previously faced cross voting leading to the successful election of BJP and JJP backed candidate Kartikeya Sharma, defeating the Congress leader Ajay Maken in a highly contested election on 10 June 2022,  with two Congress votes controversially declared invalid.

This time the Congress leadership was keeping a close eye over every development and Hooda was entrusted with the responsibility to keep the party MLAs united.