Prayer to keep Goa MLAs’ trust in place

Goa BJP legislators, who were flown to Jaipur from Mumbai to keep the party’s flock together till the newly-installed Pratapsingh Rane government seeks vote of confidence, today left the city for sightseeing and to offer prayers at the Salasar Hanuman temple in Churu.

A team of 17, including 12 MLAs, who arrived on Friday, were staying in a resort near here on the Jaipur-Delhi road but were shifted to a farmhouse, and then to a hotel. They left Jaipur today by road in private vehicles escorted by police and state party leaders, sources said.

The MLAs would go to Kheenvsar-Garh in Nagaur, and to Jodhpur in next two days. From Jodhpur they would take a flight for Mumbai and then go to Goa on February 22.

The Rane government is scheduled to seek vote of confidence on February 24, and BJP legislators would reach home by that time to attend the session. As “poaching” by Congress began, BJP moved its MLAs, leaving former CM Manohar Parrikar and Speaker Vishwas Satarkar to keep the Goa camp together.