On Wednesday, the Rajasthan Congress claimed that attempts are being made to destabilise the Congress-led government by luring MLAs ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections. Following the scare, the Congress party has also shifted its 107 Congress and independent MLAs to a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur.
According to the reports, Chief Whip of the Rajasthan Assembly Mahesh Joshi has written a letter to the Director General of Anti Corruption Bureau claiming that attempts are being made to destabilise the government in the state on the lines of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat just days ahead of Rajya Sabha Elections 2020.
This political development in Rajasthan comes at a time when Congress MLAs in Gujarat have been resigning from the party ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections. A total of eight MLAs of the Congress party have resigned from the party in the last three months in Gujarat.
The Congress leader Joshi also sought “strict legal action” against such persons for indulging in corrupt activities.
Congress moves its MLAs to resort
The Congress party has now moved its 107 MLAs and independent legislators to Shiv Vilas resort on the outskirts of Jaipur. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior leader Randeep Singh Surjewala also reached the resort later in the day and held a meeting with the MLAs.
The Congress party has 107 seats, including six MLAs who defected from the BSP last year in the 200-member Rajasthan legislative assembly. The Ashok Gehlot-led government also enjoys the support of all 13 independents while Subhash Garg, who was elected on an RLD ticket, is a minister in the Gehlot government.
3 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled
The Rajya Sabha elections are scheduled to be held for three seats in the state as BJP’s Rajya Sabha members Ram Narain Dudi, Vijay Goel and Narayan Lal Panchariya retired on April 9. The elections were supposed to happen on March 26 but were postponed in light of the coronavirus lockdown. The elections will now take place on June 19 and the counting will be held on the same day.
The Congress party is expected to win at least two seats, while opposition is expected to win one. The Congress party has fielded Rahul Gandhi’s aide KC Venugopal, Neeraj Dangi while BJP has fielded two candidates – Rajendra Gehlot and Onkar Singh Lakhawat.