Third Rajya Sabha seat keeps parties on tenterhooks

The state will elect three members to the Upper House on Friday. But the battle is being fought only for one seat, as the ruling BJP is comfortably placed to ensure the victory of two of its three candidates. Despite having 166 MLAs, the party finds itself short by five votes to win the third seat. The Congress, meanwhile, does not have the strength to field its own candidate and had decided to throw its weight behind an Independent candidate.

The lack of numbers has suddenly made the BJP and the Congress chase the other political parties, who are either acting pricey or holding their cards close to their chest. Given its numbers in the Assembly, the ruling party has rarely hobnobbed with the smaller parties till recent losses in bypolls made it impossible for it to win a third seat on its own. Now it is left wooing the minnows.

The maverick legislator has since been suspended by his party. But that has not silenced him. On the contrary, the Lanji MLA continues to embarrass the Congress even as the investigating agencies try to establish the veracity of his allegations.

Congress MLA Premchand Guddu on his part has accused the ruling BJP of trying to prevent him from voting, as the Economic Offences Wing of the state police has asked him to remain present at its Indore office on voting day. The Indore MLA has also lodged a complaint with the Election Commission.

Meanwhile, Uma Bharati has asked her four Bharatiya Janashakti Party MLAs to vote in

favour of BJP candidate Raghunandan Sharma. Sharma was state unit president of her party till he decided to return to the BJP.

... contd.