RS polls: Gujarat MLAs rubbish report of horse-trading, set to meet Ahmed Patel

The Gujarat Congress MLAs showcased their unity ahead of the crucial Rajya Sabha polls on Tuesday.

Ahmedabad, August 7: Just a day ahead of the crucial August 8 Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat, 44 Congress members of legislative assembly (MLAs) came back from Bengaluru, Karnataka, to their home state.

Immediately after reaching Ahmedabad, the former capital city of the state, the MLAs were taken to a resort in Anand, where they are going to stay till Tuesday for sure. In fact, the MLAs were staying at a resort in the outskirts of Bengaluru for the last 10 days.

They were being flown together to Bengaluru by the Congress after six MLAs resigned from the party ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

On reaching Gujarat, the MLAs, while addressing the media, said they are all united and "horse-trading" was impossible. The Congress alleged that the ruling BJP was indulging in "vendetta politics" to defeat Ahmed Patel, the political secretary of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, who is contesting from one of the three Rajya Sabha seats in Gujarat.

Earlier, the MLAs claimed that the BJP was offering them Rs 15 crore each to join hands with the saffron party. They also accused the BJP of using force and coercion to change their allegiance.

"All of us are united. The BJP can't threaten any MLA. Horse-trading is not possible with those who are with us now," Shaktisinh Gohil, Congress MLA, said. The MLAs are also going to meet Patel at Neejanand resort in Anand on Monday evening, informed Shailesh Parmar, Congress MLA from Gujarat.

In the last couple of days, the Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat have become a prestige issue between the BJP and the Congress. According to reports, BJP president Amit Shah is trying his best to defeat Patel in the elections to hurt the Gandhi family.

The BJP on its part said that the Congress MLAs are not united as they want to join the saffron party due to lack of leadership in their parent organisation. The BJP strongly criticised the Congress' move to bring Gujarat MLAs to Bengaluru at a time when floods have hit the state.

During the middle of their stay in the resort, the Income Tax (IT) sleuths raided multiple properties of Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar, who was in-charge of the Gujarat MLAs.

OneIndia News