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BJP, BJD hit by cross-voting in RS polls

NEW DELHI, MARCH 27. The liquor baron, Vijay Mallya, and the former Union Minister, Dilip Ray, today notched up shock victories as cross-voting dealt a blow to BJP and its ally BJD in the Rajya Sabha biennial elections that saw the maiden entry of the RJD President, Laloo Prasad Yadav, to the Upper House and return of senior Congress leader, Natwar Singh.

Prominent among those elected today are the former Union Ministers Janardan Poojary and Abrar Ahmed, the Congress leader, Murli Deora, the Union Minister, V.P. Goyal, and the Videocon Chairman, R.N. Doot.

Film star and BJP nominee in Bihar, Shatrughan Sinha, managed to stay on in the House by garnering 37 votes, one more than the effective strength of the party in the 243-member Bihar Assembly, while the JMM leader, Shibu Soren, whose party badly lacked the number to win, romped home comfortably with the help 14 surplus votes in the Jharkhand Assembly.

Rocked by dissidence of a dozen MLAs, the BJP candidate in Karnataka, D.K. Taradevi, former Union Minister, lost to Mr. Mallya, independent candidate who managed to win with at least six BJP votes. He was backed by the Janata Parivar. The BJP's plight was tellingly brought forth with at least six of the party's 40 MLAs cross voting.

In Orissa, the ruling BJD suffered a setback when Mr. Ray, denied party nomination and expelled from it, emerged victorious as at least 14 members of his former party appeared to have voted for him.

What must have been more galling for BJD is that while 72 of its members had cast votes, the party could muster only 58 first preference votes in favour of its four candidates.

In Bihar, while Laloo Prasad Yadav got the highest number of 49 votes, his bete noire and expelled RJD leader, Ranjan Prasad Yadav, who contested as an independent, lost after appearing to be a pre-poll favourite.

— PTI

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