Cong to issue whip to MLAs in Madhya Pradesh for RS polls

The Congress will issue a whip to its 114 MLAs for the March 26 polls to three Rajya Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, a minister said on Wednesday, hours after the ruling party accused the BJP of taking some of its MLAs to Haryana in a bid to destabilise the Kamal Nath government.

The BJP has denied the charge, saying it is not trying to topple the Congress-led government in Madhya Pradesh.

"We are going to issue a whip and if any of our lawmaker violates it, his membership will be scrapped in just one hour," state Legislative Affairs Minister Govind Singh told reporters here.

Cross-voting will not be tolerated at any cost, the minister said.

Usually, political parties do not issue whip for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Congress veteran and Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh, who losing the the last year's Lok Sabha poll from Bhopal to BJP's Pragya Thakur, may seek re-election to the Upper House of Parliament, party sources said.

The Congress may field former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also in the Rajya Sabha polls, they said.

Scindia lost the Lok Sabha election last year from Guna seat in the state.

The BJP is likely renominate former Union minister and Dalit leader Satyanarayan Jatiya for the Rajya Sabha polls, sources in the saffron party said.

The three Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant in the state are currently held by Digvijaya Singh (Congress), Satyanarayan Jatiya and Prabhat Jha (both from BJP).

The BJP is set to make all efforts to retain the two seats, while the Congress wants to take its tally to two from one, as it has more legislators this time around.

In the 230-member Assembly, the Congress has 114 MLAs, followed by the BJP- 107. The simple majority mark is 116.

The Congress-led state government has the support of four Independent MLAs, two Bahujan Samaj Party legislators and one of the Samajwadi Party.

Two seats are currently vacant following the demise of a Congress and a BJP legislator.

Members of a state Legislative Assembly vote in the Rajya Sabha elections.