Shimla, March 4 -- A meeting of the Himachal Congress Legislative Party has been convened on March 5, the last day for filing nominations for election to the lone Rajya Sabha seat in the state. Industry minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, who is also the parliamentary affairs minister, while talking to HT asserted that there will be no opposition candidate this time. "There is no such possibility. Those who attempted such actions earlier have already left the party. This time, there is absolutely no such possibility," he added while referring to the switching over of Congress leaders to the BJP in 2024. The elections to the one Rajya Sabha seat from Himachal will be held on March 16. The elections are being held to fill vacancies arising as the term of BJP MP Indu Bala Goswami from Himachal Pradesh ends on April 9. The last date for filing nominations is March 5. Scrutiny of nominations will take place on March 6, and candidates can withdraw their names until March 9. Polling, if required, will be conducted between 9am and 4pm on March 16 and the counting of ballots will take place at 5pm the same day. Chauhan said, "One seat has fallen vacant and discussions regarding candidate finalization have been held between the CM and the Himachal Congress president with the Congress high command".Sources indicate that Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has left the final decision to the high command. However, he has conveyed the opinion of the Himachal Congress Legislative Party to the high command where the majority of the state Congress MLAs want a Himachali leader to be elected to the Rajya Sabha. So far sources in BJP indicate that the saffron party will field a candidate only if Congress parachute candidate lands from outside Himachal. "The Rajya Sabha election is scheduled for March 16. The Congress high command will finalise and release the list," he said. He said that a Congress Legislative Party meeting has been called on March 5 on the Assembly premises. "Rajya Sabha nominations are proposed by Members of the Legislative Assembly, and signatures will be taken on the nomination papers," he said. Principal media advisor to the Himachal CM Naresh Chauhan claimed that the current numerical strength in the state Assembly favours the Congress party and that the party's candidate would be decided by the party high command. He said the events that transpired earlier were neither consistent with democratic traditions nor conducive to state's interests. Such occurrences, he said, foster political instability and mistrust without benefiting any political formation. He called upon all parties to uphold democratic values and established conventions in larger interest of state....