After Congress, BJP takes its MLAs to resort in Rajasthan

Leader of Opposition Gulab Chand Kataria said that unlike the Congress, the BJP is merely taking its MLAs for “training”.

“Certainly, before all RS polls, we have trained all our MLAs on how to vote. It is necessary since even a small mistake changes the maths,” he told reporters.

BJP state president Satish Poonia said that he doesn’t know “who created the word baadabandi (sequestering) but it certainly applies to the Congress because if they didn’t fear, they wouldn’t have gone to Udaipur and would have been in their own homes. And going there so many days in advance, and by chartered (plane) and spending a lot; all of Rajasthan is witnessing how they are chilling in the swimming pool, the way there’s singing and dancing and all the (sumptuous) food.”

The Congress had started shifting party and supporting MLAs to Udaipur beginning June 2.

“They have no answer to the power crisis, people are running around for water while they are swimming in the pools. The ‘government’ has ceased to exist when the entire government is sequestered. We are in the Opposition yet we are not worried. This proves theirs is a jugaad government,” Poonia said.

While Congress has fielded Randeep Singh Surjewala, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tiwari, BJP has fielded party veteran Ghanshyam Tiwari and is also backing media baron Subhash Chandra, who is contesting as an independent; the five are in fray for four RS seats.

The Congress can send two candidates to the Rajya Sabha while the BJP can get one elected. But since the ruling party has fielded three candidates and the BJP two, both the parties are dependent on votes outside their organisations to win an additional Upper House seat from Rajasthan. The Congress, which has 108 MLAs, needs 15 more votes to win the third seat and claims to have the support of an additional 18 MLAs. The BJP has 71 MLAs in the House and needs the support of 11 legislators to win the second seat.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) national president Hanuman Beniwal announced Monday that the three RLP MLAs will support independent candidate Subhash Chandra.

“Our commitment was that we won’t vote either for the BJP or the Congress. The other option was boycotting the polls, but then the people won’t forgive us. Hence we’ve decided that all three RLP MLAs will vote for the independent candidate,” Beniwal said.