NEW DELHI: Eleven Congress MLAs ignored party directives in the RS elections, once again underlining how the upper house polls – both at the center and in the states – have become the party’s Achilles heel when it is in opposition.Five Congress MLAs from Haryana voted against the party, three from Odisha and three from Bihar abstained. The four votes declared invalid in Haryana were alleged by the Congress to be the work of the BJP through its “acting returning officer”.The repeated defections in RS and Legislative Council elections in states where the Congress party is in opposition are either the “influence” of the ruling party led by the Bharatiya Janata Party or the result of factionalism. The Congress managed to win the RS elections in Haryana after failing twice in the past, while its efforts to help its allies in Bihar and Odisha failed.Many believe this is the result of Congress’ inability to oust the BJP from states, which has frustrated elected members and made them easy prey for the ruling party. The revolt in Orissa and Bihar is due to this reality. However, factionalism appears to be at play in Haryana, with MLAs who cross-polled in the past and later joined the BJP, such as Kiran Choudhary and Kuldeep Bishnoi.Many insiders and state leaders have expressed their helplessness, saying that “money power” is a “stick” threatened by the ruling party and a “carrot” factor that is not easy to resolve. That makes lawmakers with business interests particularly vulnerable, they say.However, the party’s success in winning in Haryana was attributed to strong leadership and state units, despite the party saying that “the returning officer is an agent of the BJP”.