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Haryana Congress MLAs arrived at the hill resort town of Kufri near Shimla ahead of the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in the state. The legislators reached a resort at Gallu in New Kufri, around 25 kilometres from the Himachal Pradesh capital, amid tight security arrangements at around 9 pm.

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Senior Congress leaders, including All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge for Haryana, BK Hariprasad and Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Rao Narender Singh, accompanied the MLAs.

MLAs moved amid poaching fears

The move comes ahead of the Rajya Sabha election for two seats from Haryana scheduled on March 16. The BJP has fielded two candidates, including one Independent-backed nominee, for the polls.

According to party sources, the Congress leadership, led by former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has shifted the legislators to the hill resort as a precautionary measure amid concerns of possible poaching attempts by the BJP.

A large security deployment has been put in place around the resort, with the Shimla district police guarding the premises and restricting entry to media and outsiders.

Biennial elections for 37 seats

The polling for the biennial elections to the Council of States (Rajya Sabha) to fill the 37 seats across 10 states is scheduled to take place on March 16, with the counting of votes on the same day at 5 pm.

The term of 37 members who were elected from Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Telangana will conclude in the month of April, vacating the seats for new members to be elected.