Tension for Cong mounts in Gujarat, 1 more MLA resigns; 6 in two days
Ahmedabad: Tension continues to simmer for Congress in Gujarat as the party lost six MLAs in just two days.
Three more have filed their resignations to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Ramanbhai Vora on Friday.
Ramsinh Parmar stepped down after Mansingh Chouhan and Chhanabhai Chaudhary resigned earlier on Friday.
On Thursday three Congress MLAs from Gujarat had resigned and joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The resignation is seen as a major blow to Congress ahead of the Rajya Sabha election.
The resignation of three more MLAs on Friday has reduced Congress's tally to 51 in the 182-seat Assembly.
The MLAs who have tendered their resignation on Thursday are considered close to former Opposition leader Shankarsinh Vaghela who has also resigned from the Assembly.
On Thursday Balwantsinh Rajput (who was also the chief whip), Tejashreeben Patel and Prahlad Patel had resigned.
The development came at a time when the Congress has fielded its senior leader Ahmed Patel as its candidate for the Upper House in the election scheduled for August 8.
The Congress nominee can sail through if he musters the support of 47 MLAs and the party is able to guard against further desertions from its legislative arm.
The presidential election had seen cross-voting by Congress legislators as the Opposition candidate Meira Kumar could garner votes of only 49 legislators against the Congress's strength of 57 in the Assembly then.
The setback for the Congress comes almost a week after Vaghela left the party and also resigned as the Leader of Opposition. However, he continues to be an MLA.
Ahmed Patel, political secretary of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on Wednesday filed his nomination papers from Gujarat for the Rajya Sabha polls.
Of the total 11 Rajya Sabha members from the state, the term of three of them — Smriti Irani, Dilipbhai Pandya (both BJP) and Ahmed Patel— is ending on August 18.
BJP President Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani have filed their nomination on Friday and will contest for Rajya Sabha elections from Gujarat.
Currently, Shah is an MLA from Gujarat's Naranpura constituency.
