4 MORE GUJARAT CONG MLAs QUIT
AHMEDABAD: In a rude jolt to the Congres in Gujarat, four more of its MLAs resigned on Friday taking the number of legislators who quit to six ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls, for which the party has fielded its heavyweight Ahmed Patel.
The Congress party in Gujarat on Friday suffered a major blow as four more MLAs quit the party, taking the total number who have resigned in two days to seven.
Chhanabhai Chaudhary, MLA from Vansda constituency, Mansinh Chauhan from Balasinor, Ramsinh Parmar (Thasra) and C.K. Raolji, a legislator known to be close to rebel Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela, submitted their resignations to Speaker Ramanlal Vora.
Political sources say Chaudhary and Chauhan are expected to join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). But Parmar, Chairman of Amul Dairy, said he would not do that.
The developments come a day after three legislators resigned from the party and joined the BJP.
Another senior Congress legislator, Raghavji Patel, said he too was preparing to follow suit along with some others. Patel, a legislator from Jamnagar (rural) constituency in Saurashtra, said: “I also want to go to the BJP and there are others who are also preparing for it.
“We are frustrated. Nobody listened to our voice and took note of our aspirations,” said the veteran leader.
Besides Raolji, Patel, Chaudhary and Chauhan are also believed to be close to Vaghela, who quit as Leader of Opposition on July 21, alleging that there was an intra-party conspiracy to oust him from the Congress.
On Thursday, three MLAs — Balwantsinh Rajput, Congress Chief Whip and MLA from Siddhpur, Tejashree Patel from Viramgam, and Vijapur legislator P.I. Patel submitted their resignations and joined the BJP.
Within minutes of joining the BJP, Rajput was named the party’s third Rajya Sabha candidate.
The defections spell trouble for Ahmed Patel, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's political secretary who has filed papers seeking a fifth Rajya Sabha term from Gujarat.
Meanwhile, BJP chief Amit Shah, Union minister Smriti Irani and newly inducted former Congress MLA Balwantsinh Rajput, who resigned on Thursday and joined the saffron party, today filed their nomination papers for the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls.
While Shah and Irani were nominated by the central leadership a few days back, Rajput, who was Congress’ chief whip in the Assembly, was declared the BJP’s third candidate shortly after he quit both from the House and the party on Thursday.
Rajput is pitted against senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, who has been re-nominated for the August 8 Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat.
Of the total 11 Rajya Sabha members from the state, the term of three — Smriti Irani and Dilipbhai Pandya (both BJP) and Ahmed Patel — is ending on August 18.
The Congress nominee can sail through if he musters the support of 47 MLAs. In the 182-member Assembly, the strength of Congress has gone down to 51, as six of its MLAs have resigned since Thursday.