Cong will shortly decide on RS poll strategy in Hry: Tanwar

Haryana Congress Chief Ashok Tanwar today said the party will soon take a decision on whether to vote or abstain in the June 11 polls for two Rajya Sabha seats from the state as Congress has not fielded any candidate and two Independent candidates are in fray for the second seat.
INLD-supported lawyer RK Anand has been pitted against ruling BJP-backed media baron Subhash Chandra for the seat.
While Union Minister Birender Singh is likely to have a comfortable re-entry to Rajya Sabha, a keen contest is on the cards between Chandra and Anand when polls for the two seats to the Upper House of Parliament from Haryana are held on June 11.

Tanwar said though both the candidates were Independents, they were supported by rival political parties.
"We have accordingly given our feedback to our party's senior leadership. Our MLAs have also given their feedback. Whatever we decide to do, it will be a collective decision," he told PTI over phone, adding that the decision will be taken over the next few days.
Asked if Congress would participate in voting or abstain, Tanwar said, "At this stage, I cannot comment on that. We are yet to take a decision on this."

He, however, added, "We will do whatever is in the best interests of the state and our party."

Chandra had earlier said he had reached out to Congress and sought its support since none of its own candidates was in fray. He had also claimed that he had the support of the five Independent MLAs in the Haryana Assembly, the lone BSP MLA, while two INLD members too had offered their support to him.
BJP has 47 MLAs in the 90-member Assembly, INLD 19, Congress 17 (Kuldeep Bishnoi's two-member HJC merged with Congress recently), BSP one, SAD one and five are Independents.
The two seats, currently occupied by Union Ministers Birender Singh and Suresh Prabhu, will fall vacant on August 1. The two were elected following by-elections in December, 2014.