Congress prepares to save its MLAs from poaching in Chhattisgarh elections

New Delhi, Dec 3: Though the result of Chhattisgarh Assembly elections will be declared on December 11, 2018 but the Congress seems to be confident of winning in the state but appears more worried about poaching of their MLAs. So the party is working on the strategy that winning candidates of the Congress must not be left alone and a team of the party will be immediately attached with the winning MLAs. The state Congress and the high command would transport them to the safe places so they can't be poached.

Sources said that strategy to this effect has been made in the presence of Congress president Rahul Gandhi in Delhi. The work in this regard has started at the district level. At the state Congress office Rajiv Bhawan, state in-charge of the party P L Punia, PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel, leader of opposition T S Singh Dev, senior leaders of the party and all 90 candidates had a meeting on November 28 in which all the candidates were asked to reach Raipur immediately after the announcement of results for the elections.

The Congress leadership is worried that poaching attempts could be made if victorious candidates stayed back in their constituencies. It has been decided at the moment that victorious candidates will have to reach Raipur but this could be changed at the last moment. Some secret destination will be told to them to reach there directly.

In the year 2014, there was a by-election on Antapur Assembly constituency but at the last moment Congress candidate Manturam Pawar withdrew his name and Congress had to support an independent candidate who had lost the election. An audio CD surfaced in which purchase of the Congress candidate came forth and the Congress demanded investigation of the matter.

In a previous attempt in 2003, the then chief minister Ajit Jogi had lost Assembly elections in the state. The BJP was preparing to form the government in the state but attempts were made to poach the BJP MLAs from the party in which the name of Ajit Jogi figured but the BJP exposed it at the last moment. The matter was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation.