Congo elects Odisha MLAs in Kataka, Haryana, Netas ahead of RS polls

BENGALURU/CHANDIGARH: The Congress has sent nine of its 14 Odisha MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru and 32 Haryana MLAs to the hills of Himachal Pradesh, kicking off the familiar ritual of unplanned political holidays as parties try to stem the bargaining ahead of the March 16 Lok Sabha polls. In Bhubaneswar, the BJD led by former minister Naveen Patnaik arranged three days of mandatory evening meetings of lawmakers to ensure everyone is on the same page. Both the Congress and the BJD have backed independent candidate Datteswar Hota for one of the four seats out of 37 contested in the state for the RS polls. Odisha PCC chief Bhakta Charan Das on Friday accompanied the MPs to the Bidadi resort in south Bengaluru, which will be their home at least until the election eve. CLP president Rama Chandra Kadam told TOI: “Nine of our colleagues are spending a leisurely weekend and five of us are here. You know how the BJP openly tries to swap MLAs. But our colleagues remain united.” Karnataka deputy minister and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar, who oversees arrangements at the Wonderla resort on Mysore Road, said the MLAs were brought to the city after the BJP fielded its second candidate in the race for four seats. “There are concerns about cross-voting and trying to influence MLAs with big offers,” he said. In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has 79 MLAs and is looking to get support from three independents. While the BJD has 48 legislators. A candidate needs at least 30 first preference votes to win a seat. According to this formula, two BJP candidates and one RSS candidate are expected to win easily. For the fourth seat, the BJP has extended its support to independent candidate and former Union minister Dilip Ray. In Haryana, a meeting of 32 Congress MLAs was held at the Chandigarh residence of CLP leader Bhupinder Hooda in the presence of AICC general secretary BK Hariprasad and PCC president Rao Narender Singh. They participated in a poll exercise and were then herded into two buses to Shimla, sources said. MLAs who did not travel included Chandermohan, who was reportedly unwell, and Olympian Vinesh Phogat. The BJP, which has 48 seats, is confident that its candidate Sanjay Bhatia will make it through. Congress has 37 members and its candidate Karamvir Singh Boudh needs 31 votes to win. Independent candidate Satish Nandal has twisted the equation for the second seat. The Congress seems wary of a repeat of Ajay Maken’s defeat due to cross voting in 2022.