Three more Gujarat Cong. legislators resign, to join BJP

Till now 5 MLAs have quit Congress and joined BJP taking Congress’ tally to 52 in the 182-member assembly

The Gujarat Assembly. File

The Congress in Gujarat seems to be falling apart before of the crucial Rajya Sabha polls and Assembly electionss, slated to be held later this year.

Congress legislators Mansinh Chauhan, Ramsinh Parmar, and Chhanabhai Chaudhary resigned on Friday, and will be joining the BJP, giving a major jolt to party veteran Ahmed Patel, who is struggling to keep the flock together.

On Thursday, Congress MLAs had resigned and immediately one of the three MLAs Balwantsinh Rajput was fielded by the BJP as third candidate for Rajya Sabha to take on Mr Patel, trusted aide of Nehru-Gandhi family.

"Several more MLAs will follow the suit," a BJP insider told

The Hindu , exuding confidence that the party will win all the three seats in the upper house. "We have adequate numbers to ensure victory of Balwantsinh Rajput," a Vaghela loyalist told The Hindu .

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Three Gujarat Cong. MLAs quit party, join BJP

 

It is now evidently clear that despite Mr. Vaghela's publicly stated view that he would vote for Mr Patel in Rajya Sabha polls, he has joined hands with BJP to engineer exodus of MLAs to put Mr Patel's candidature on jeopardy.

Resignation of increasing number of legislators is making the Rajya Sabha battle a tightrope walk for Mr Patel, seeking his fifth term in upper house.

With resignation of two more MLAs, Congress tally has shrunk from 57 to 52 in 182-member assembly.