Haryana BJP MLAs were seen travelling together in a bus in Chandigarh on Saturday ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, with state party president Mohan Lal Badoli stating that the move was part of preparations and training for legislators ahead of the crucial vote.
Addressing reporters here, Badoli dismissed speculation about secrecy around the move and said the party was openly preparing its MLAs for the election process. “We are not hiding anything. We will roam around here in Chandigarh. This is the land of Haryana; it is a land of miracles. A miracle will happen. We will certainly provide training to MLAs,” he said.
Haryana Minister Mahipal Dhanda also confirmed that all BJP MLAs had assembled for discussions and training sessions ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls. “All the MLAs have arrived. Our party in charge has arrived as well. We will meet with them. Training is essential. Every political party wants to ensure it is well-prepared,” Dhanda said.
The move comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha election for two seats from Haryana scheduled on March 16. The polling for the biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm.
Meanwhile, Haryana Congress MLAs arrived at the hill resort town of Kufri near Shimla on Friday ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state. The legislators reached a resort at Gallu in New Kufri, around 25 kilometres from the Himachal Pradesh capital, amid tight security arrangements at around 9 pm.Senior Congress leaders, including All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Haryana, BK Hariprasad, and Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rao Narender Singh, accompanied the MLAs.
The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.