Fielding extra nominees and supporting independents, BJP moves to corner Opposition in Rajya Sabha polls

As per the strength of parties in various seats, the BJP is expected to win 21 and Congress ten out of the 55 seats going to polls

Narendra Modi-led BJP has fielded extra candidates in Maharashtra and Karnataka and are backing two independents in Haryana and Rajasthan to snatch Rajya Sabha seats from the Opposition, especially the Congress, amid allegations that the ruling party at the Centre was indulging in horse-trading in the June 10 polls.

While the BJP is not in a position on its own to win extra seats in these states, the party is hoping that the wafer thin numerical advantage enjoyed by the Opposition could crumble due to some deft political manoeuvring.

As per the strength of parties in various seats, the BJP is expected to win 21 and Congress ten seats out of the 55 seats going to polls on June 10.

The surprise entry of media baron Kartikeya Sharma, son of former Congress leader Venod Sharma and Managing Director of ITV Network which runs news channels such as NewsX, in Haryana and the shifting of Zee Group supremo Subhash Chandra from Haryana to Rajasthan as independent candidates supported by the BJP have queered the pitch for Congress.

In Haryana, Congress has fielded its General Secretary Ajay Maken while the BJP has fielded Krishan Lal Panwar. Sharma is the independent candidate and the winner should get 31 votes.

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Ideally, Congress should win one seat as it has 31 MLAs but with a sulking Kuldeep Bishnoi, who has the support of around half-a-dozen MLAs, the party is staring at trouble. Bishnoi was not happy with the party leadership as it ignored his claims for a seat at the high table of the party’s Haryana unit and had last week met Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.

The BJP and its allies are expected to transfer its excess votes to Sharma, but still he would need a minimum of five more votes. Leader said that the senior Sharma, who was expelled from Congress in 2014 for anti-party activities, with deep pockets and connections with several leaders can tilt the game in his son’s favour.

In Rajasthan, the Congress has fielded three candidates – Randeep Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari – while the BJP has fielded one candidate while announcing its support to Chandra, who had managed to win from Haryana six years ago after a controversial vote in which Congress votes were declared invalid after several of its MLAs using a wrong pen to mark their votes.

A winner would need 41 votes and the Congress believes that it can get its three candidates romp home easily, as there are 126 non-BJP MLAs, excluding three from Hanuman Beniwal-led BLP.

The BJP can transfer 30 of its excess votes to Chandra and in that scenario, he would need 11 more votes. With 13 independents in the House and MLAs of smaller parties, Chandra is hoping to rope some in to ensure that Congress is dealt a blow in an election-going state.

The Congress also has trouble as it has fielded three outsiders with several leaders expressing their resentment over the issue. However, the candidates and the leadership are hopeful as they believe Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will ensure that nothing goes wrong for them.

"We are going to win three seats. I don't know why the BJP has played the game. They did the same 15 years ago but had to announce withdrawal of support because the independent candidate got no votes. From where will they bring votes? They want to indulge in horse-trading. This is not a good tradition," Gehlot said after Chandra filed the nominations.

In Maharashtra where it can win two seats, the BJP has fielded a third candidate Dhananjay Mahadik, as Shiv Sena would need votes from its allies to ensure the victory of its second candidate. Sena’s Sanjay Raut has already accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading.

In Karnataka, the BJP has fielded Lahar Singh in a bid to snatch an extra seat as Opposition parties are not in a position to emerge victorious alone in seats.