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NEW DELHI: Ahead of Rajya Sabha polls successful Madhya Pradesh, Congress leaders connected Tuesday alleged poaching attempts by Bharatiya Janata Party and shifted its MLAs to Congress-ruled Karnataka to forestall cross-voting."All Congress MLAs are being shifted to Bengaluru successful party-ruled Karnataka," Saunsar MLA Vijay Revanath Choure told quality bureau PTI.This comes aft the Congress Legislature Party held a gathering precocious Monday nighttime astatine the residence of person of absorption successful the MP assembly, Umang Singhar. The legislators were consulted connected the connection to determination them retired of Madhya Pradesh until polling, PTI reported, citing sources.Nearly 60 Congress MLAs attended the meeting. One enactment MLA did not be the gathering due to the fact that helium was successful Delhi, portion elder person Kamal Nath participated online.Talking to PTI, Singhar alleged that the BJP was trying to "buy" Congress MLAs and said each of them would beryllium shifted to a party-ruled state.He claimed immoderate enactment MLAs told him that BJP members approached them with "bags afloat of notes", but they turned them away.
BJP's "conspiracies" volition neglect connected the voting day, the Congress person asserted.Congress MLAs Yadavendra Singh and Babu Jandel besides confirmed that the legislators were being moved to Karnataka.Meanwhile, Singh said that immoderate MLAs were not successful favour of being moved out, but since it was the enactment precocious command's decision, everyone was being shifted.The 230-member Madhya Pradesh Assembly forms the electoral assemblage for the Rajya Sabha election.
With the House's effectual spot reduced to 229 owed to a vacancy, a campaigner needs 58 first-preference votes to unafraid a spot successful the Upper House.The BJP presently has 164 MLAs, portion the Congress has 64 and the Bharat Adivasi Party one. The Assembly spot fell by 1 aft Congress MLA Rajendra Bharti's rank from the Datia constituency was revoked.On paper, the BJP has capable numbers to comfortably triumph 2 of the 3 seats, requiring 116 votes successful total.
After securing those 2 victories, it volition beryllium near with 48 votes — 10 abbreviated of the 58 needed for a 3rd seat. The Congress, meanwhile, has 4 votes much than the minimum required to elite its candidate.Even so, the enactment appears unwilling to instrumentality immoderate chances. The determination comes against the backdrop of the 2020 governmental crisis, erstwhile the Kamal Nath-led Congress authorities collapsed aft Jyotiraditya Scindia and 22 MLAs switched sides to the BJP.Ahead of June 18 elections, BJP is assured of winning 2 seats with 116 votes and has fielded enactment nationalist wide caput Tarun Chugh and authorities portion caput Rajneesh Agrawal.The BJP has besides fielded Mahesh Kewat, president of the Madhya Pradesh Fishermen Welfare Board, arsenic its 3rd candidate.The Congress has nominated erstwhile MP Meenakshi Natarajan and expressed assurance of retaining capable enactment to unafraid her election, portion Kewat's introduction has added a caller magnitude to the contest.
