Congress Calls MLA Meet Ahead Of RS Polls, Focus On Cohesion And Voting Strategy

Bhopal: Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress in Madhya Pradesh has called a crucial legislature party meeting on Saturday evening at Indira Bhawan in Bhopal as part of its preparations for the upcoming polls, where the party is aiming to keep its legislators together and ensure smooth voting.The meeting, convened by Congress chief whip Sohanlal Valmiki, comes after the party declared former MP Meenakshi Natarajan as its Rajya Sabha nominee, while BJP has fielded state BJP secretary Rajneesh Agarwal and party national secretary Tarun Chugh for the three seats going to polls. With 58 votes required for victory on each seat, Congress leaders acknowledge that the numbers remain tight, though party insiders maintain there is no major concern within the camp.Congress officially has 66 MLAs, though two legislators — Mukesh Malhotra and Rajendra Bharti — stand disqualified. Bharti was disqualified following conviction in a criminal case. Malhotra was disqualified for non-disclosure of criminal records while contesting polls. The status of Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre also continues to remain sub judice. Sapre won the assembly elections on a Congress ticket but later allegedly joined BJP. Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar moved an application before the Assembly Speaker seeking her disqualification under the anti-defection law and later approached the high court after no decision was taken. During the court proceedings, Sapre informed the court that she continues to remain a Congress MLA, party sources said, making the party whip applicable to her as well.According to Congress sources, the Saturday meeting has several purposes. Apart from passing a unanimous proposal backing Natarajan’s candidature and arranging signatures of the mandatory 10 proposers needed for nomination filing, the leadership also wants legislators to remain coordinated ahead of polling.“If any MLA has doubts regarding the process or voting procedure, those can be clarified in the meeting itself,” said a party source.The party is also expected to brief MLAs on the technicalities of voting to avoid invalid ballots. “Even minor procedural mistakes, like the use of a different pen during voting, can lead to disqualification of the vote. So members will be guided properly,” a Congress leader said.Though the last date for filing nominations is June 8, Natarajan is likely to file her papers on Saturday itself. BJP candidates Rajneesh Agarwal and Tarun Chugh are also expected to submit nominations the same day. Chugh, who hails from Punjab, reached Bhopal on Friday.While BJP comfortably has the numbers to secure two seats, political discussions around a possible third candidate surfaced after senior BJP MLA Kailash Vijayvargiya remarked in Indore that if the party fields a third nominee, efforts would be made to ensure victory for that candidate as well. Congress leaders, however, downplayed such possibilities, saying the focus currently remains on ensuring all party MLAs vote together.