RS polls: Rajasthan BSP whip asks its 6 MLAs to vote for Independent candidate

The Rajasthan BSP Saturday issued a whip asking six MLAs who had won as BSP candidates but later merged with the Congress to vote for only Independent candidate Subhash Chandra who is in the fray for the June 10 Rajya Sabha elections.

Issuing the whip, BSP state president Bhagwan Singh Baba said the six MLAs had won their seats in the 2018 state polls on BSP symbol and "are bound to work as per the party whip".

"The BSP does not agree with the policies of the Congress and the BJP, and therefore opposes their candidates. The party has issued a whip directing the MLAs to vote for the Independent candidate," he said, adding appropriate action will be taken if the whip is violated.

The six MLAs are: Rajendra Gudha, Lakhan Meena, Deepchand Kheria, Sandeep Yadav, Joginder Awana and Wajib Ali.

They had who the 2018 assembly elections as BSP candidates, but merged the BSP legislature party with the ruling Congress in September 2019.

The election on four seats of Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan will take place on June 10.

The Congress has shifted many of its MLAs and Independents to a hotel in Udaipur to protect them from horse trading. Of the six BSP turned Congress MLAs, only one -- Joginder Awana -- is in the camp in Udaipur.

Rajendra Gudha, who is a minister of state, expressed his resentment Thursday, saying the MLAs do not get due respect in the Congress.

The Congress has fielded Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Surjewala and Pramod Tiwari, while the BJP has nominated former minister Ghanshyam Tiwari and supported media baron Subhash Chandra who has filed nomination as an independent.