JOIN USBJP admits defeat in U'khand trust vote
The BJP has already conceded defeat in the Uttarakhand floor test even as the results will be out only on Wednesday.
The party reportedly got 28 votes in the reduced Assembly strength of 62 while the Congress managed to get 33 votes, 27 from its own MLAs and remaining from BSP (2), Independents (2) and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (1). The 9 disqualified rebel Congress MLAs were not allowed to vote by the Supreme Court.
After the floor test in Dehradun, BJP MLA Ganesh Joshi, who was arrested in an assault case that lead to death of horse Shaktiman, said the party has won in “principle” but “lost in number game”.
“We did not use money power. Had we done that even we would have got numbers,” Joshi told reporters. He charged that Congress got votes due to money power.
BJP general secretary Kailash Viyayvargiya, however, said that, “Congress lost one of their MLAs today, BJP has only gained”. Congress MLA Rekha Arya reached Uttarakhand Assembly with BJP MLAs and voted against Rawat government.
BJP sources said that they were banking on Rekha to bring along with her a few more MLAs, but it did not materialised. The floor test, said BJP leaders, is not just a psychological victory for Congress, but also raises questions over party chief Amit Shah’s plans in states controlled by Congress and discourage the BJP from invoking Article 356 which it did in Arunachal Pradesh.
BJP leaders privately said that it was wrong strategy to have taken upon itself to settle internal squabble of Congress in the hilly state and that too closer to Assembly polls.
The move has given an upper hand to former chief minister Harish Rawat, who will return to power if he emerges victorious on Wednesday, before the polls, said a BJP leader.
But, some others are seeing a silver lining in the political crisis. A senior state leader said the BSP supporting Congress in the trust vote had given the BJP opportunity to encash it in UP Assembly polls due next year.
The message which has gone to UP is that both Congress and BSP are one which would give advantage to ruling Samajwadi Party which can spin it to get minority votes in its favour.