Rajya Sabha Elections: Congress Escorts Odisha MLAs To Bengaluru Amid Cross-Voting Fears

Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled on March 16, Congress has shifted eight of its MLAs from Odisha to Bengaluru amid fears of cross-voting.

Earlier, both Congress and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had issued a three-line whip to all MLAs, ensuring unity among the legislators in the elections.

Odisha Pradesh Congress chief Bhakta Charan Das took eight Congress MLAs, including chief whip Raazen Ekka, to Bengaluru on Thursday. The other MLAs are Ashok Dash, Satyajit Gamang, Apala Swami Kadraka, Mangu Khil, Nilamadhav Hikka, Puruthaya Sawanta and Prafulla Pradhan.

These MLAs have been accommodated at a resort located 35 km from the city. Sources said Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar is monitoring the logistical arrangements for their stay. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge is scheduled to meet these MLAs there. They are expected to remain in Bengaluru till Monday morning before returning to Bhubaneswar to participate in the voting for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Those who have not gone to Bengaluru include party leaders, Ramachandra Kadam, Sophia Firdous, Dasharthi Gamang, Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Ramesh Chandra Jena and Sagar Charan Dash.

Congress, which has 14 MLAs in the Odisha Assembly, has not announced any candidate in this state. The grand old party along with BJD and CPI-M have decided to support joint candidate Datteshwar Hota. BJD has announced Santrupt Misra as its candidate and BJP has nominated state party chief Manmohan Samal and Sujeet Kumar for the upcoming elections.

The polling for the Rajya Sabha will be held to fill 37 seats in 10 states, including Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Telangana, on March 16, and the counting of votes will be on the same day at 5 pm.

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