Sukhu attends luncheon with Haryana Congress MLAs as they leave for Kasauli

A day ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, 31 Haryana Congress MLAs, who were lodged at a hotel in New Kufri, were shifted to Kasauli in Solan district amid tight security after a luncheon with Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu at a British-era Wildflower Hall hotel at Chharabra, close to the house of Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, on the outskirts of Shimla on Sunday afternoon.

The Congress MLAs left Kufri in three small buses within a heavily guarded motorcade.

Sources said that 40 rooms have been booked for them at a hotel in Kasauli, located about 60 km fromChandigarh.

Amid concerns over influencing and cross-voting, the Congress had moved its Haryana MLAs to a hotel in New Kufri two days ago.

TheRajya Sabhaelections for two seats in Haryana will be held between 9 am and 4 pm on March 16, while the counting of votes will take place from 5 pm the same day.

Two Rajya Sabha seats would fall vacant in Haryana as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.

Sources said a few Congress Members of Parliament, including Deepender Singh Hooda, son of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, were also present during the lunch.

Party insiders said after the luncheon meeting, the legislators left for Kasauli.

Principal Media Adviser to CM Sukhu, Naresh Chauhan, said, “The CM attended the lunch where Haryana Congress MLAs were also present and held discussions.”
The Congress has fielded Karamvir Singh Boudh, and the BJP has fielded Sanjay Bhatia, while Independent candidate Satish Nandel is also in the fray.

The Haryana Legislative Assembly has a total strength of 90 members.

Of these, the BJP has 48 MLAs, and the Congress has 37, while the INLD has two, and there are three Independent MLAs.

While Leader of Opposition in Himachal Pradesh Assembly Jairam Thakur had stated that bringing Haryana Congress MLAs toShimlaand “placing them under house arrest in a luxury hotel” ahead of the election was “abduction of democracy”, Chief MinisterSukhvinder Singh Sukhuhas so far refrained from commenting.

Thakur said the mobile phones of these MLAs were switched off.

They were confined inside a “human chain” and not allowed to step outside, he alleged, commenting that the Congress has lost faith in its own legislators.

Two Rajya Sabha seats would fall vacant in Haryana as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are set to complete their terms on April 9.

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