Rajya Sabha election: Congress confident of Ajay Maken's victory amid cross-voting fears

Amid looming uncertainty over Ajay Maken's election to the Rajya Sabha due to possible cross-voting, Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda has expressed confidence that his party candidate "will win with more votes than their strength."

"We are confident that our candidate Ajay Maken will win with more votes than our strength," Hooda told reporters as he arrived in Delhi along with Haryana MLAs who were hoarded at a resort in Chandigarh before elections. 

Two seats from Haryana are vacant for the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha, whereas three candidates are in the fray. 

BJP has fielded former Minister Krishan Lal Panwar while Ajay Maken is the Congress nominee. The contest spiced up after the entry of independent candidate Kartikeya Sharma into the poll fray, causing trouble for Ajay Maken. 

Congress has just the required number of MLAs for winning the Rajya Sabha seat, however, the contest will be a nail-biter since Congress MLA Kuldeep Bishnoi and INLD MLA Abhay Singh Chautala have pledged support for Kartikeya Sharma. Moreover, 2-3 MLAs close to Bishnoi could also cross-vote in favour of Sharma, who is a BJP-supported candidate.

BJP has 40 MLAs and its candidate Krishan Lal Panwar has a safe passage through, however, it will be a tough contest for Ajay Maken and Kartikeya Sharma and they will have to muster up support from other parties and independents.

Haryana Rajya Sabha polls

In the 90-member Haryana House, the BJP and its allies have 57 members, whereas the Congress has 31 lawmakers. The number needed to win an Upper House seat is 30. Thus the BJP and its allies, taken together, will possess 27 excess votes after securing their seats.

Before the closely contested Rajya Sabha elections in Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Haryana, a familiar pantomime of political parties moving their MLAs to resorts and hotels was seen over the last week. The Congress had relocated its Rajasthan legislators to Udaipur and its Haryana legislators to Chhattisgarh. The Shiv Sena did the same in Maharashtra. Not to mention, the Rajasthan BJP, which has been beset by factionalism, also followed suit.

(With inputs from agency)