Rajasthan political crisis: BSP moves HC; Challenges merger of party MLAs with Congress

Jaipur, July 29: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on Wednesday filed a writ petition in the Rajasthan High Court challenging the merger of its six-party MLAs with the ruling Congress in the state.

Sandeep Yadav, Wajib Ali, Deepchand Kheria, Lakhan Meena, Jogendra Awana and Rajendra Gudha had won the 2018 assembly elections on BSP tickets.

They defected to the Congress in September 2019. BSP state president Bhagwan Singh Baba said, "We have today filed a writ petition in the high court against the merger of BSP MLAs with the Congress".

He said that a petition will also be filed in the office of the assembly speaker to challenge the merger. "We will also file a petition with the speaker and demand that the merger be cancelled," he said.

On Tuesday, BJP MLA Madan Dilawar filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the order of the assembly speaker on his complaint. The petition will be heard in the court on Wednesday.

Dilawar had filed the complaint before the Speaker in March this year against the merger. The speaker had rejected the complaint on July 24. The MLA alleged that he was not heard by the Speaker while deciding on the complaint and he had challenged the Speaker's order in the high court.

The merger of BSP MLAs with the ruling Congress was a boost to the Ashok Gehlot-led government as the tally of the Congress increased to 107 in the house of 200.