Hectic lobbying has begun in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the main Opposition Congress circles in Madhya Pradesh for the Rajya Sabha biennial election to fill five Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant for which the schedule has already been announced by the Election Commission.
All the five Rajya Sabha seats falling vacant from Madhya Pradesh are currently held by members belonging to the BJP.
The retiring members are Anusuiya Uikey, Vikram Verma, Kaptan Singh Solanki, Meghraj Jain and Narayan Singh Kesari.
Given the strength of the BJP and the Congress in the MP Assembly, the BJP is sure of retaining four seats, while one would go to the Congress on the basis of at least 38 first-preference votes.
The general mood in the BJP circle is that keeping in view “Mission 2013”, that is the coming Assembly elections, outsiders should not be given preference over state-level leaders when it comes to filling up the Rajya Sabha seats.
This message, though it is being circulated in hushed tones at the moment, has the potential of diluting any move by the BJP leadership to send to the Rajya Sabha from prominent personalities in Madhya Pradesh, who were earlier elected to the Upper House from other states.
In the Congress, there is a strong undercurrent and demand is being raised for picking someone from the minorities to fill the lone Rajya Sabha seat that will now go to the Congress from Madhya Pradesh.
On being contacted, a senior minority leader from the Congress said on condition of anonymity that after the drubbing in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections and the rise of the Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress should go all out and use the Rajya Sabha biennial election as an opportunity to assert its commitment to the cause of the minorities in Madhya Pradesh.
This will send a positive signal and rally crucial minority support during the 2013 Assembly elections, he added.