Kolkata: The stage is set for a face-off between BJP-led NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu and opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha in the presidential polls, which are slated for Monday. Hence, the BJP shifted all its MLAs to a hotel in Newtown. Against this backdrop, both the ruling and the opposition parties ordered all their MLAs to be there in Kolkata by Sunday night. Trinamool Congress State president Subrata Bakshi is in-charge of monitoring the ruling party's affairs during the poll.
69 BJP MLAs 'locked up' in a hotel Similarly, party general secretary Partha Chatterjee and Transport Minister Firhad Hakim are keeping close tabs on MPs and MLAs. On the other hand, the opposition MLAs are under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition in the state Suvendu Adhikari is in charge of the opposition voters. Meanwhile, 69 BJP MLAs from the state were whisked away to a hotel in Rajarhat by the saffron brigade. According to BJP sources, this step is to ensure that all the MLAs of the party vote for Droupadi Murmu.
Political circles assume that this is an unprecedented event in West Bengal politics. In the past, there was no such incident of locking up the MLAs of the party in a hotel or resort in the state. However, there have been allegations of horse-trading in other states. Based on that, BJP is taking extra caution ahead of the elections.
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Political circles believe that the BJP is now seeking to secure the votes of their party MLAs, who are still with them, following the defection of several of its MLAS after the Assembly elections. Hence, the party is not leaving any stone unturned to secure the votes of all its MLAs. It may be noted that excluding the defectors, the BJP currently has the support of 70 MLAs. Even though MP Arjun Singh's son Pawan Singh has not switched allegiance, BJP has assumed that he may switch over his loyalties to the Trinamool Congress. So, excluding him, the BJP leaders, along with 69 MLAs, have camped in the Newtown Hotel. In this case, the state BJP leadership may face embarrassment if they vote for the Trinamool-nominated candidate.
Therefore, the BJP is treading a cautious path to avoid cross-voting. Meanwhile, the Trinamool Congress ridiculed the BJP for locking up its MLAs in the hotel and said that it has no trust in its MLAs. Suvendu Adhikari is struggling to keep his flock together and that is why they have to do this kind of arrangement,” Nirmal Ghosh of Trinamool Congress said.
On the other hand, BJP’s Manoj Tigga said, "Most of the BJP MLAs are newly elected. They have no idea how to vote in the Presidential election. That’s why efforts are being made to bring everyone together so that voting can be done properly. There is no point in unnecessary making an issue out of this.”
