Chandigarh, March 14 (IANS) Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections slated for March 16 in Haryana, the ruling BJP on Saturday moved its 48 MLAs, along with supporting Independent Legislators, together in buses to a private hotel located at Sector 35 in Chandigarh, triggering political speculation over preparations for the upcoming poll.
Haryana BJP President Mohan Lal Badoli said the gathering was part of a programme to brief legislators about the voting procedure for the Rajya Sabha election.
“A small programme is being held to explain the entire process of how voting will take place. All 48 BJP MLAs are here, ” Badoli told reporters.
He dismissed speculation about secrecy surrounding the movement of MLAs and said the party was only ensuring that legislators were fully prepared 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. Training is essential. Every political party wants to ensure it is well-prepared, ” he said.
Some BJP legislators struck a lighter note about the trip. MLA Laxman Yadav compared the outing to a picnic.
“Wherever the bus takes us, there will be a picnic. Look, every college and every school has a picnic. This is the Vidhan Sabha’s school and all the students are going to enjoy the picnic, ” he said.
Another BJP MLA, Moolchand Sharma, said the legislators would remain within the city.
“Lunch will be right here in Chandigarh. We will be local, ” he said.
MLA Randhir Panihar added that even the legislators themselves were unaware of the destination. “We ourselves don’t know where we are going, ” he said.
Haryana Minister Krishan Lal Panwar told IANS, "We are not disappearing like Congress; we are only conducting a mock drill."
The development comes a day after the Congress moved its Haryana MLAs to Kufri near Shimla in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, in what party sources described as an attempt to keep its flock together.
According to sources, Congress legislators arrived in Shimla in three buses on Friday evening and were lodged in two hotels in Kufri, where around 37 rooms were booked for them.
Earlier, Congress MLA Jassi Petwar told IANS that the party legislators were heading for a two-day training session.
“All 37–38 Congress MLAs will attend. The strategy is to ensure party unity, and all MLAs are together supporting the party’s decisions and directives from the leadership, ” he said.
Another Congress MLA, Kuldeep Vats, said a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party chaired by former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had reaffirmed support for the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate.
“On March 16, all MLAs will vote for the Congress Rajya Sabha candidate, ” Vats said.
Polling for two Rajya Sabha seats from Haryana is scheduled to take place on March 16.