The Congress has named Neeraj Dangi for second consecutive time as its candidate for a Rajya Sabha seat. According to the current numerical strength, Dangi is certain to repeat his term in the upper house.
The voting for the three Rajya Sabha seats getting vacant in Rajasthan will be held on June 18 and the results will be declared on the same day.
Among those who are completing their terms are Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, BJP MP Rajendra Gehlot and Congress MP Neeraj Dangi.
The BJP has announced names of former state president Satish Poonia and Alka Gurjar as its candidates.
According to the current numerical strength in the assembly, BJP is certain to win two seats while Congress will retain its seat.
The Congress has 67 MLAs while 51 MLAs are needed to win one seat. If the BJP fields a third candidate, there may be a risk of cross voting in the Congress camp.
Cross voting can affect the narrative of the opposition camp, so as a strategy, the BJP can field a third candidate of its own or even support an independent candidate.
The Congress has fielded Neeraj Dangi as the Rajya Sabha candidate for the second time.
According to political observers, Congress has repeated Neeraj Dangi to consolidate on dalit votes ahead of panchayat and local bodies elections.
Can BJP field third candidate or support independent?
In all likelihood, this election would be a friendly affair with BJP wining two seats unopposed and Congress getting the remaining one. If the BJP does not field a third candidate, then there will be an unobjected election, there will be no need for voting.
If BJP fields or support a third candidate, BJP will need votes of 35 MLAs of other parties. This looks almost impossible in the current political situation.
Apart from BJP's 118 members, there is one member of RLD, 2 BSP, 4 BTP and 8 independents. Even if all of them vote for BJP, it will be short of 20 MLAs for victory.
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