“It is the misfortune of Congress that it has failed to retain its workers, MLAs,” said Pradipsinh Vaghela.
Ahmedabad:
It is the responsibility of Congress to prevent its lawmakers and workers from leaving, high-ranking Gujarat BJP leader Pradipsinh Vaghela said on Saturday.
He was responding to a Rajasthan MLA’s claim that the BJP was trying to lure 10 Congressional MLAs into Gujarat ahead of Assembly polls expected in December.
“I believe it is the responsibility of a political party and its leadership to retain its workers, guide them in a timely manner and make good use of their strength. It is the misfortune of Congress that it has failed to detain her workers, MLAs,” said Mr. Vaghela.
The opposition party MLAs had also previously crossed over to the BJP in Gujarat, he said, adding that “it is Congress’s responsibility and not ours” to stop this process.
But he also joked that “there is currently no vacancy” for Congressional MLAs in the BJP.
“Congress must try to prevent leaders who are established names in society and who work for the public from leaving,” Vaghela added.
Sanyam Lodha, Sirohi’s independent MLA and adviser to Rajasthan Prime Minister Ashok Gehlot, has claimed that the BJP tried to “bait 10 MLAs from Congress in the run-up to the 2022 assembly elections in Gujarat.” “I warned Congress. I have input on it and that’s why I informed the party. I informed Raghu Sharma 20 days ago… There was no movement on his part, so I tagged the high command of the party to to warn,” Mr Lodha told PTI.
Before the 2020 Rajya Sabha elections, eight MLAs from Gujarat Congress resigned and later joined the BJP.
Recently, five former Congress MLAs joined the BJP. The Congress, which won 77 seats in Gujarat’s 2017 parliamentary election, now has 65 MLAs.
