The Haryana Congress has lodged a complaint with the Himachal Pradesh Police alleging that senior BJP leaders are trying to bribe its MLAs to seek votes in Monday’s Rajya Sabha election.Sources said the complaint had been filed in Shimla, where the MLAs were housed for the past three days, to foil any “poaching” attempts by the BJP.The Rajya Sabha poll in Haryana is especially interesting since there are three candidates for the two seats. Of the three candidates, the BJP has given the ticket to former MP Sanjay Bhatia, while the Congress has given the ticket to Dalit activist Karamvir Baudh.Adding excitement to an otherwise “routine” election is the presence of a third candidate — BJP vice president Satish Nandal — who has filed his nomination as an Independent. He claims to have support from across party lines.Sources said the “key leaders” of the BJP had tried to get in touch with the Congress MLAs and allegedly “offered” a bribe for votes.Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana, BK Hariprasad, said, “Some MLAs have been approached. They have given a complaint to the Shimla Police. We will speak of this only once an FIR has been registered.”Meanwhile, the Congress MLAs have left Shimla and are on their way to Chandigarh. Sources said they were given training on how to cast the vote for the Rajya Sabha poll since many of them are first-timers.


