Gujarat Congress moves 69 MLAs to resort ahead of RS bypolls

Ahead of by-polls to the two Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat, the state Congress late yesterday night shifted 69 of its MLAs to Balaram Palace Resort in Banaskantha for one day 'shivir', fearing horse trading and cross-voting.

Ahmedabad:Sixty-nine Congress MLAs on Wednesday arrived at Balaram Palace Resort in Gujarat's Banaskantha for a one-day 'shivir' (camp). The MLAs were earlier going to go to Mount Abu.

Earlier in the day, MLA Alpesh Thakor had criticised the party's decision to move its MLAs to Banaskantha saying that it means there is a communication gap or lack of camaraderie in the party.

"Why does the party have to resort to these measures like taking the lawmakers somewhere out of the state every time there is such a situation? This means that somewhere there is a communication gap or lack of camaraderie or respect towards their elected representatives in Congress", said Thakor.

This came after reports emerged that Congress Party is taking their 65 MLAs to Mount Abu in Rajasthan to avoid cross voting ahead of Friday's Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat Assembly. The Congress MLAs left for Mount Abu from Ahmedabad in a bus on Wednesday.

Taking a dig at the Congress for moving its MLAs to Mount Abu, BJP MLA Govind Patel said, "Congress leaders do not trust their own party men. The kind of beating they faced in Lok Sabha elections has shattered them. They believe that their own MLAs would desert them and that is why they plan such excursions outside of Gujarat," he added.

In the upcoming by-elections to Rajya Sabha, the BJP has fielded External Affair Minister S Jaishankar and Jugalji Mathurji Thakor for the seats vacated by Amit Shah and Smriti Irani who won their respective constituencies in the recently held general elections for the 17th Lok Sabha.

Congress has 71 MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly. It is the principal opposition party in the BJP-ruled state.

Read: Court declines plea seeking disqualification of MLA Alpesh Thakor