BSP demands bar on 6 Rajasthan MLAs, who defected to Congress, from voting in Rajya Sabha polls

The Bahujan Samaj Party on Wednesday wrote to Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and Assembly Speaker CP Joshi demanding that the six MLAs who won on the BSP party symbol but later defected to Congress be barred from voting in Rajya Sabha polls.

The elections for four seats of the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan will be held on June 10.

In the letter, the Rajasthan BSP president Bhagwan Singh Baba said that a case under the anti-defection law is going on against the MLAs in the Supreme Court.

"In such a situation, these six MLAs should be stopped from voting in the Rajya Sabha elections because the BSP has decided that it will not support any party or independent in the Upper House elections," Baba stated.

The six MLAs - Rajendra Gudha, Lakhan Meena, Deepchand Kheria, Sandeep Yadav, Joginder Awana and Wajib Ali -had joined the Congress in September 2019. Congress has fielded three Rajya Sabha candidates from Rajasthan - Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Pramod Tiwari - and is facing rumblings of fielding "outsiders".

This came a day after media baron Subhash Chandra, who is backed by the BJP, filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate from Rajasthan for the Rajya Sabha polls. Chandra, Chairman of the Zee group, is a sitting member of the Rajya Sabha whose term will end in August.

BJP has 71 MLAs in the 200-member Rajasthan assembly and has fielded Ghanshyam Tiwari as its candidate. Hence, Chandra would need about 13 more votes to sail through to the upper house of Parliament for another term.

Chandra will be directly pitted against Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari who is seeking a repeat Rajya Sabha term after a gap of one term. With the support of the BJP candidate, Chandra is also likely to exploit "factionalism" in Congress organisation in Rajasthan.

The entry of an independent candidate Subhash Chandra into the field has made matters tough for Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot who now will be required to marshal all his resources to deliver three seats for the party. There are 13 independent candidates in the state assembly who are supporting the Ashok Gehlot-led Rajasthan government.

(ANI)

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