New Delhi: Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), as per sources, will back the Congress in Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls that are to be held on August 8 in Gujarat. Senior NCP leader Praful Patel earlier on Sunday said his party wasn’t clear about choosing a path. Noteworthy the NCP had tied up with the Congress in 2012 Gujarat Assembly polls.
Praful Patel the former Patel Minister of State for Civil Aviation yesterday said that his party only has two legislators and all of a sudden they are into the limelight. Earlier today, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel after meeting Congress MLAs lodged in Anand resort had confirmed support of NCP. The aide of Congress President Sonia Gandhi said,” They just announced support, will issue a whip also.”
In the Rajya Sabha election, Balwantsinh Rajput- the former Congress MLA who switched sides with the BJP, will be pitted against Ahmed Patel. In total, 3 people are to be elected from Gujarat from Rajya Sabha for which BJP national president Amit Shad and Union Minister Smriti Irani have filed their nomination as well and it is being believed that the two will easily march towards a winning note. To get re-elected for Rajya Sabha, 67-year-old Ahmed Patel requires 45 votes and Congress is already protecting its 44 MLAs in a resort in Anand to disallow BJP from ‘horse trading’.
On July 29, Congress transported its 44 MLAs to Bengaluru due to alleged ‘horse trading’ in Gujarat state. Congress MLA Amit Chavda on Monday said the 44 MLAs were dispatched to save the democracy of India, apart from avoiding ‘horse trading’. He said,” BJP indulges in horse trading and its top leadership wants to completely destroy the democracy of India.”
Last month, on July 28, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that BJP, through its money and man power was luring the Congress legislators.
