Shimla, March 14 Amid tight security, 31 Haryana Congress MLAs staying at two resorts in Kufri, near Shimla, visited the nearby tourist destination of Chail on Saturday.
In an attempt to maintain party unity, the Congress moved its Haryana MLAs to Himachal Pradesh on Friday, ahead of the polling for two Rajya Sabha seats in Haryana on March 16.
The MLAs were brought to Kufri in three small buses on Friday evening, escorted by a motorcade, and up to 37 rooms have been booked for them.
Given concerns about influencing and cross-voting ahead of the polls, security has been tightened around the legislators.
Police have been deployed at a spot on the national highway (Shimla-Kinnaur road) from where the diversion goes to the resort where the MLAs are staying. Journalists have also been kept 200 meters away from the resort.
The two Rajya Sabha seats are falling vacant as BJP members Kiran Choudhry and Ram Chander Jangra are completing their terms on April 9. BJP's Sanjay Bhatia, Congress' Karamvir Singh Boudh, and BJP-backed Independent candidate Satish Nandal are contesting for the two seats.
The Congress, with 37 members in the Haryana Assembly, has the required strength to help its candidate win a seat. However, the prospects could be in jeopardy if there is cross-voting. Polling will be held on March 16 between 9 am and 4 pm, and votes will be counted on the same day from 5 pm.
The ruling BJP has 48 MLAs, Congress has 37, the INLD has two MLAs, and three legislators are Independents in the 90-member Assembly. Each candidate requires 31 votes to make it to the Rajya Sabha from Haryana.