Ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls on June 18, big political drama has unfolded in Madhya Pradesh, where three seats are up for grabs. Congress on Tuesday sent its Madhya Pradesh MLAs to Karnataka to avoid poaching and eliminate the possibility of cross-voting.

Congress MLAs gathered at LoP Umang Singhar's residence ahead of their departure. Speaking about the move, MLA Sohan Lal Valmiki told news agency PTI, "We are going to Karnataka as directed by the party. As per reports, the BJP is trying to connect with our leaders. They are in power, and they often misuse the institutions of democracy. That is why we are remaining vigilant. For this reason, all our MLAs are united, and we are going away together with our families."

At the airport, CWC member Kamleshwar Patel said, "Congress adopted this strategy to prevent any untoward development, as it believes that the BJP has made major attempts to undermine democracy."

Except for a few lawmakers who will remain in Bhopal for coordination, all MLAs will move to Karnataka with their families.

The fear of cross-voting mounted within Congress after the BJP announced a candidate for the third seat. Jitu Patwari, MP Congress chief, alleged that the ruling party was engaged in horse-trading while also expressing confidence in MLAs' unity.

BJP State President Hemant Khandelwal, on the other hand, said that the party had not contacted any Congress leader but would welcome anyone who votes according to their conscience.

Why is fielding a third candidate a big move by BJP?

The BJP has named Mahesh Kevat as its candidate for the third seat against Congress's Meenakshi Natarajan. The MP Assembly currently has a strength of 229 MLAs. Based on the formula, 58 first preference votes would be required for a candidate to win the Rajya Sabha MP post.

Since the BJP has 164 MLAs, its 116 MLAs could comfortably elect two MPs. These MLAs will election party's national general secretary, Tarun Chugh, and state unit secretary, Rajneesh Aggarwal.

The remaining 48 MLAs would vote for Kevat, 10 short of the magic number. Congress, on the other hand, has 61 MLAs in the assembly and hence was looking for a comfortable victory in one seat, thus fielding only Meenakshi.

However, by fielding Kevat, the BJP has raised alarm in the Congress camp as cross-voting by 10 MLAs could cost it a Rajya Sabha seat in the state.