Cross-Voting Threat? Congress Flies MP Legislators To Karnataka Ahead Of Rajya Sabha Polls

Published 9 June 2026 · local

Cross-Voting Threat? Congress Flies MP Legislators To Karnataka Ahead Of Rajya Sabha Polls Published By, Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 15:08 IST Ahead of the

Cross-Voting Threat? Congress Flies MP Legislators To Karnataka Ahead Of Rajya Sabha Polls Published By, Last Updated: June 09, 2026, 15:08 IST Ahead of the June 18 Rajya Sabha polls, Congress has flown most of its Madhya Pradesh MLAs to Karnataka, alleging BJP attempts to contact and poach legislators. Bhopal: Congress leaders arrive at the airport to leave for Bengaluru amid Rajya Sabha seat turmoil (Photo: PTI) The Congress on Tuesday shifted its Madhya Pradesh legislators to Karnataka ahead of the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to contact and poach its MLAs in a bid to alter the electoral arithmetic. According to news agency PTI, Congress legislators began moving out of Madhya Pradesh after the party leadership decided to keep them together in a Congress-ruled state until polling. The decision followed a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) held late on Monday at the residence of Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar in Bhopal.

Congress MLA Vijay Revanath Choure told PTI that all party MLAs were being shifted to Bengaluru in Karnataka. Legislators Yadavendra Singh and Babu Jandel also confirmed that the Congress lawmakers were being moved out of the state. Speaking to PTI, Singhar alleged that the BJP was trying to “buy" Congress legislators ahead of the Rajya Sabha election. He claimed that some Congress MLAs had informed him that BJP members approached them with “bags full of notes", but said they had rejected such offers. “The BJP’s conspiracies will fail on the voting day," Singhar told PTI, asserting that all Congress legislators would be shifted to a state governed by the party. Congress leaders also alleged that the BJP was attempting to create divisions within the party and engineer cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha election. Yadavendra Singh was quoted as saying that while some legislators were not initially in favour of leaving the state, the decision had been taken by the party high command.

He alleged that the BJP was attempting to poach Congress MLAs and said the leadership therefore decided to keep all legislators together in a Congress-ruled state until voting takes place. It was reported that, barring a few legislators, almost all Congress MLAs were headed to Karnataka. A few senior MLAs were expected to remain in Bhopal for coordination, while many legislators were travelling with their families. The movement of Congress MLAs comes amid heightened political activity ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, where the party is seeking to keep its flock together and avoid any possibility of cross-voting. Congress leaders have repeatedly linked the decision to their allegations of the BJP’s attempts to reach out to legislators, while the BJP remains confident about its prospects in the contest. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Vani Mehrotra Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com.