BJP appoints ministers as RS poll in-charges after Independents enter fray

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been appointed in-charge of Rajya Sabha polls in Rajasthan, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will handle Haryana, while Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy (Karnataka) and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (Maharashtra) are the others roped in for the contest which has turned interesting due to media barons Subhash Chandra (Rajasthan) and Kartikeya Sharma (Haryana) entering the fray as Independents.

Congress has alleged that Chandra and Sharma are backed by BJP which will engage in horse trading to help them muster the numbers.

Union ministers are usually appointed as election in-charge during Assembly and Lok Sabha elections whereas parties field Rajya Sabha candidates as per their strength in the respective Assembly and back an extra candidate who manages the numbers he/she is falling short of.

With Chandra filing his nomination, Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari’s fate hangs in the balance. As the third candidate, Tiwari has only 26 remaining votes from his party after Randeep Singh Surjewala and Mukul Wasnik are elected. Each candidate in Rajasthan needs 41 votes. Congress has 108 MLAs. Chandra will get the support of 30 BJP MLAs- the saffron party has made its stand overt with Chandra meeting Vasundhara Raje and other leaders. Falling short of 11, Chandra is likely to influence some of 13 Independent candidates. Hanuman Beniwal’s RLP with three MLAs may finally come around to supporting Chandra.

CPI-M and Bharatiya Tribal Party have two MLAs each while RLD has one.

Tomar, a veteran BJP leader who has managed crucial Assembly polls for his party, will have to step in to ensure Chandra’s victory.

BJP has fielded Ghanshyam Tiwari, a former minister in Raje’s cabinet, as its lone candidate and he is set to win from the party quota.

Shekhawat has been made election in-charge of Haryana where Kartikeya Sharma is the Independent candidate backed by Dushyant Chautala’s JJP and BJP. His entry into the elections poses a threat to Congress candidate Ajay Maken’s prospects.

In the 90-member Assembly, each candidate needs 31 MLAs to win. BJP will have 10 spare votes after backing its candidate Krishan Pal Panwar. JJP has another 10, leaving Sharma short of 11 votes. Sharma is likely to win over the seven Independent MLAs in the Assembly. Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi, a known party hopper, is said to be unhappy and would be on Sharma’s radar. Sharma will need three more Congress votes to defeat Maken. It may not be a very difficult task for Kartikeya, who is Congress veteran Venod Sharma’s son.

Meanwhile, in Karnataka both Congress and BJP are trying to spoil the chances of Janata Dal (S) for the fourth seat. With Congress refusing to back JD(S) for the fourth seat, the field is open for BJP under Reddy’s charge.

Vaishnaw has been given charge of Maharashtra where BJP has forced a contest by fielding Dhananjay Mahadik as its third candidate. Shiv Sena has alleged that BJP will try to lure MLAs from other parties for Mahadik, a former MP who hails from Kolhapur.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Anil Bonde are set to win from the BJP quota in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile, BJP General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya has been made in-charge of the by-poll in Tripura.