BJP looks for multiple gains from RS poll

Bhopal

The Congress seems content with the sole Rajya Sabha seat that it will bag through Saturday's poll.

It has asked its legislators to commit 54 of their first preference votes to Digivjaya Singh and thus sacrifice Phool Singh Baraiya, the second candidate. Digvijaya Singh is seeking a re-entry to the Upper House. He needs 52 MLAs' support. The Congress has 92 MLAs.

The Congress was once well-placed to send two of the three candidates to the Upper House. It will now watch its former star Jyotiraditya Scindia win as a BJP candidate along with a rank outsider Sumer Singh Solanki.

The BJP hopes to make a political capital from the easy passage of Digvijaya Singh. Phool Siingh Baraiya, the second candidate of Congress, might secure 38 of the 40 Congress votes and might end up as a loser.

Baraiya is a popular Dalit leader from the Chambal-Gwalior region. With two additional votes committed to Digvijay Singh, Baraiya would need 14 additional votes and hope for some votes being rejected.

After Scindia's rebellion, Baraiya was nominated to influence the 16 seats that will witness by-elections in the Chambal-Gwalior region. The BJP will now turn it into a campaign issue saying the Congress propped up an upper caste candidate at the expense of a Dalit leader.

The RSS, which had put all its might to defeat Digvijaya Singh during the Lok Sabha elections through Sadhvi Pragya Thakur, has appreciated the BJP's new strategy.

"Digvijaya's re-entry in the Upper House would benefit us in the by-elections to 24 seats," a senior BJP leader said.

The Congress and BJP legislators held final meetings to strategize for polling. While the Congress legislators met at former chief minister Kamal Nath's house before lunch the BJP was again holding a dinner meeting.

"We are going to hold lunch meetings of MLAs. Each revenue division lawmakers will sit separately", a BJP legislator said. Both our nominees, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sumer Singh Solanki are certain to enter the Rajya Sabha," he said.

The BJP has 107 MLAs and support of two Bahujan Samaj Party (SP) and one Samajwadi Party (SP) MLAs and two Independents which takes its number to 112 in the assembly currently having 206 members.

By-elections to 24 assembly seats are lined up by September after 22 Congress rebel MLAs resigned toppling their government in March after 15 months. Besides, two seats had fallen vacant due to the demise of lawmakers.