The State Congress has moved half of its MLAs to Jaipur, alleging poaching attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Senior Congress leader Vijay Vadettiwar on Friday alleged that sums of ₹25 crore to ₹50 crore have been offered to their MLAs to switch sides. “We have told our MLAs to record such calls so that people of the State know about them,” he said.
A group of MLAs left from Nagpur and Mumbai on Thursday night. “Some have gone on Friday afternoon,” said a party functionary. On Thursday, some MLAs had gone to Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on supporting the Shiv Sena. That group was directed to Jaipur from Delhi. “A total of 30-35 MLAs will be sent to Jaipur,” said a senior MLA. The party hopes that being under the protection of a Congress government in Rajasthan is the best choice for its MLAs.
On Friday evening, senior party leaders from the State met NCP chief Sharad Pawar at his residence, Silver Oak, to discuss the future strategy.
Congress sources have said the only situation in which the party can think of supporting the Sena is if it exits from the National Democratic Alliance and its lone minister resigns. “How can our party support the Sena if it remains part of the BJP-led Union government? We have conveyed this to them,” a senior Congress leader from Nagpur said.
