Crisis in Gujarat Congress ahead of RS polls as two more MLAs resign

Days after the date for Rajya Sabha polls was announced, the Gujarat Congress on Thursday suffered yet another blow after two of its MLAs tendered resignation, while another legislator is speculated to follow the suit. Earlier, in March, five of its MLAs had resigned forcing the Congress to take its flock to Jaipur to avoid further crisis in the party. MLAs returned after polls were postponed in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Three days after election commission announced the dates for the polls to be held on June 19, Congress legislatures-Jitu Chaudhary, from Kaprada Assembly seat in Valsad district and Akshay Patel who represented Karjan seat in Vadodara- tendered their resignations before the Assembly speaker Rajendra Trivedi in person, reducing the Congress' strength in the assembly to 66. Trivedi confirmed to reporters in Gandhinagar and said that both the Congress leaders have ceased to be MLAs.

The development holds significance in view of the fact that Congress has fielded two of its most senior leaders-Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki. With seven of its party men ceasing to be MLAs, it is said to be an impossible task for winning both the seats. BJP has fielded three candidates Abhay Bharadwaj, an advocate, Ramila Bara, a tribal leader from Sabarkantha district and Narhari Amin who switched to BJP from Congress in 2012.

State Congress president Amit Chavda alleged that instead of saving people from the global pandemic, "BJP is buying and blackmailing Congress MLAs with the help of an IAS officer who draws salary from public money." He alleged in a tweet that government does not have money to buy ventilators but is buying MLAs.

The state BJP president Jitu Vaghani hit back in a press conference and said, "Congress is struggling with internal fighting but instead of addressing it, the party blames BJP and issues baseless statements. It is a sinking ship and its crew members are leaving on their own. The assembly speaker, who received the resignation, himself has clarified that these MLAs have resigned on their own."

Vaghani claimed that no one from his party "contacted" any of the Congress MLAs. He also claimed that BJP will win all the three seats comfortably with the "mathematics" that is emerging.