Jaipur: In a setback to BSP supremo Mayawati, all the six MLAs of her party in Rajasthan have defected to the ruling Congress.
The development comes ahead of civic body polls and bypolls for two assembly seats in the state and has increased the tally of the Congress in the House of 200 (two vacant) to 106.
Hitting out at the Ashok Gehlot government, BSP President Mayawati said the Congress has once again proved that it is “unreliable” and “untrustworthy”.
MLAs Rajendra Singh Gudha, Jogendra Singh Awana, Wajib Ali, Lakhan Singh Meena, Sandeep Yadav and Deepchand met Assembly Speaker CP Joshi on Monday night and handed over a letter to him stating their decision to join the Congress.
BSP legislators were earlier supporting the Ashok Gehlot government from outside and were in constant touch with the chief minister.
All of us decided to join the Congress to strengthen the government in the interest of the state. We first met the chief minister and later gave a letter about our decision to the assembly speaker, one of the MLAs, Joginder Singh Awana, told reporters here on Tuesday.
Mayawati termed the move as a “betrayal”.
“The Congress government in Rajasthan has once again broken BSP MLAs and proved that it is an unreliable and untrustworthy party,” she said in a tweet.
“Congress, instead of fighting against its bitter opponents and organisations always work to harm those parties which cooperate/support them. The Congress is thus an anti-SC/ST OBC party and has never been sincere and honest about the right to reservation of these classes,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said in another tweet.
The move is expected to provide more stability to the Gehlot government which came to power in December last year. Gehlot had displayed similar political skills in 2009 also by bringing all the (then) six BSP MLAs to the Congress fold in order to make his government stable.
The then Congress government led by Gehlot was five short of a majority and by managing to bring BSP MLAs in Congress, Gehlot had increased the tally of the Congress to 102 in the House of 200.
Gudha is the only sitting MLA who was among the (then) six BSP MLAs to defect to the Congress in 2009.
Gudha had also levelled corruption charges against Mayawati last month alleging that tickets to contest elections are given in lieu of money in the BSP.
The Congress now has a tally of 106 and its alliance partner Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) has one seat.
The ruling party also has outside support of 12 of the total 13 Independent MLAs.
Also read: Congress is so desperate to survive in Maharashtra it wants to ally with fringe player SP
Most of the politicians of this country are corrupt and are only interested in looting this country. Similar is the intention of leaders belonging to regional & smaller parties who are running these parties for their self interest to amass huge wealth and these parties are individual properties of single leader which have no democracy at all. Why Mayawati is blaming Congress for defection of BSP MLAs who also shifting sides for money? They are applying same principle adopted by Mayawati to become billionaire in short span of time by fooling public while in power & by collecting money from BSP candidates for tickets allotted to them in elections. So MLAs & Congress should not be blamed for defection. Almost all politicians are corrupt & have no moral but only interested in making huge wealth for self & their family.
Prof PK Sharma, Freelance Journalist,Barnala (Punjab)
A fine development indeed !
BSP Supremo Ms.Mayawati must change her mindset and psyche !
Nuisance and negligible numbers game in politics does not akways work, she should try to understand.
Moreover, she should also bear in mind one important factor that she is not in power now but was in
power indeed quite long back.
She should have learnt lessons from the immediate past and striven to do something innovative to keep
her party’s flock of half a dozen legislators in her fold. But in politics, no one likes “learning.”
In their own prudence, six MLAs thought it better to switch sides in the name of “the best interests”
of the state.
The development infact is a blessing in disuise for Congress and Mr. Ashok Gehlot to be on the safer
wicket than slippery wicket !
The six MLAs jumping to the bandwagon of Congress and CM Ashok Gehlot are ultimately
both the gainers in the bargaining game !
Prof.P.K.Sharma,Freelance Journalist
Pom Anm Nest,Barnala (Punjab)
Accha hua. Next, Sachin Pilot should replace Ashok Gehlot. He has the potential to break the five yearly change of governments in Jaipur.