Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala arrives to vote along with other MLAs on Friday. (Express Photo: Jasbir Malhi)The high-stakes Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana will be held Friday for two seats from the state.
There are three candidates in the fray – BJP’s Krishan Panwar, a former transport minister and five-time MLA; Congress’ Ajay Maken; and Independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma, a media baron and son of expelled Congress leader and former Union minister Venod Sharma.
The hectic lobbying and resort politics by both the Congress and the BJP-JJP coalition, amid allegations of horse-trading, will come to an end today as the MLAs start reaching the Vidhan Sabha to cast their votes.
BJP’s Krishan Panwar is set to comfortably make it to the Rajya Sabha as he has 31 clear votes in his favour. The key contest is for the second seat between Maken and Sharma, for which either of the two needs 30 votes.
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Although the Congress has 31 MLAs, the party is expecting cross-voting or last-minute “surprises” thrown at it by the ruling BJP-JJP coalition. Desperate attempts were also being made by the Congress high command to pacify an agitated Kuldeep Bishnoi, who has been sulking for not being made the state Congress president.
Kuldeep and Bhupinder Singh Hooda arrived in Chandigarh on Thursday evening on the same Delhi-Chandigarh Vistara flight. Bishnoi, however, has not said he will support the Congress nominee.
Besides JJP’s 10 MLAs and BJP’s 9, till Friday morning, at least six Independent candidates have also announced their support to Kartikeya Sharma. INLD’s Abhay Chautala has also announced support to Sharma.
The Congress, however, is confident that because it has the adequate numbers, its nominee Ajay Maken will safely make it to the Rajya Sabha.
Haryana’s Vidhan Sabha’s numbers
In the 90-member Haryana Vidhan Sabha, there are 40 BJP MLAs, 31 Congress MLAs, 10 JJP MLAs, seven Independent MLAs, and one each from Indian National Lok Dal and Haryana Lokhit Party.
Forty-three MLAs are first-timers, of which maximum 17 are in BJP, while 14 belong to the Congress, six of JJP and as many Independents.
A swing of two-three MLAs — be it through cross-voting or by abstaining — can change the equations for the nominees.
Haryana Rajya Sabha election: Polling schedule
* Venue – Haryana Vidhan Sabha
* Time – 9 am to 4 pm
* Counting of votes – 5 pm
Manipur’s election commissioner Rajesh Aggarwal and Haryana’s CEO Anurag Aggarwal, appointed as central supervisors, shall be conducting the polls.
A pen provided by the Election Commission shall be used by all the MLAs to cast their votes. No other pen/ink can be used.
MLAs shall not be allowed to carry mobile phones.
BJP and Congress are the two national parties. Both have appointed their own party observers. MLAs shall be required to show their votes to their respective party observers. If any MLA does not show his/her vote to the observer, and the observer raises an objection to that, the vote can be disqualified.
Independent MLAs, JJP MLAs, Haryana Lokhit Party’s Gopal Kanda and Indian National Lok Dal’s Abhay Chautala need not show their votes to anybody.
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