Chandigarh, March 16 (IANS) Voting for the two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana began here on Monday with the counting of ballots to begin at 5 p.m.

Three candidates are in the fray. They are BJP’s Sanjay Bhatia, Congress’ Karamvir Boudh, a Dalit activist, and BJP-backed Independent candidate, Satish Nandal.

Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini cast the first vote of the day.

Fearing cross-voting, the Congress, which has 37 legislators in the 90-member House, had moved its MLAs to resorts and hotels in Himachal Pradesh. Six among them did not go to Himachal for personal reasons.

On Sunday night, the Congress shifted 31 legislators from Shimla to Kasauli. Accompanying party general secretary and in charge of Haryana, B.K. Hariprasad, and Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda, all the lawmakers on Monday morning were taken directly in a convoy from their hotel to Chandigarh amidst tight security.

On reaching Chandigarh, all the MLAs first will arrive at Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Hooda’s residence in Sector 7. After having breakfast there, all of them will proceed to cast their votes in the legislative Assembly.

With 47 legislators, this will be CM Saini’s first major political test since assuming charge. Winning both seats would be seen as a testament to his strong political grip and strategic acumen.

“A victory could further elevate his stature and influence within the party high command,” admitted a senior BJP minister.

A candidate requires 31 votes to win. With its 48 votes, the BJP can easily secure one seat.

The Congress has 37 votes. It is too in a position to win a seat.

The BJP’s remaining 17 MLAs, along with three Independent voters, are expected to cast votes for BJP-backed Independent candidate Nandal.

If the two votes from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) go to Nandal, he will still require additional nine votes. The INLD may either support the BJP or abstain from backing Nandal.

The two Rajya Sabha seats would fall vacant as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.

In the past, two instances of vote cancellations during the Rajya Sabha polls came to light that altered the election results.

In 2016, the votes of 14 Congress MLAs were declared invalid. At that time, pens other than the prescribed ones containing purple ink were used.

The cancellation of the 14 votes paved the way for the victory of Independent candidate Subhash Chandra, who was backed by the BJP.

In 2022, the vote of one Congress MLA was declared invalid. Consequently, Ajay Maken lost to the BJP-backed Independent candidate, Kartikeya Sharma.

–IANS

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