India, June 9 -- The Opposition Congress has chartered a plane to fly its lawmakers out of Madhya Pradesh in two batches on Tuesday amid fears of poaching ahead of the June 18 Rajya Sabha elections. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded three candidates in the state, even as it needs the backing of nine additional assembly members to secure the third seat.

The Congress lawmakers gathered at the residence of Umang Singhar, the leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, ahead of their departure to Congress-ruled Karnataka. The first flight is scheduled to depart at 2:30pm, followed by another in the evening.

The Congress has, over the years, relied on DK Shivakumar, who took over as the Karnataka chief minister this mon...