The Coronavirus Pandemic has changed the way humankind lives, everything from how the human race conducts itself to the existing world order has changed, what has not changed is the Indian National Congress’ progress towards liquidation and balkanisation. In a latest exodus within India’s oldest political party, three Gujarat Congress MLAs- Akshay Patel, Brijesh Merja and Jitu Chaudhary have resigned. Merja resigned on Friday, while the other two MLAs had resigned earlier.
Even worse, this comes ahead of Rajya Sabha polls for four seats in the state. Earlier, the Congress was confident of winning from two seats, but with five MLAs resigning in March and three MLAs resigning now, its chances of winning the second seat are slim. This is likely to create a prestige issue as the grand old party has fielded two political heavyweights- Shaktisinh Gohil and Bharatsinh Solanki.
Of the four Rajya Sabha seats, BJP holds three and Congress holds one. While the Congress would need at least 70 votes to send both its candidates to the Upper House of the Parliament, resignation of eight lawmakers- five in March and three this month have reduced its numerical strength in the 182-member Assembly to 65.
The BJP, on the other hand, has 103 MLAs while ten seats are vacant- two due to Court cases over polling disputes and eight due to resignations. One seat is held by an Independent MLA, Jignesh Mevani, while Bharatiya Tribal Party holds two and NCP holds one seat.
The BJP has also upped the ante, and has fielded three Rajya Sabha candidates- Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin, making it difficult for the grand old party to secure the entry of both its candidates to the Upper House of the Parliament.
Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani has accused the BJP of breaking the Congress lawmakers to win the Rajya Sabha polls, but the BJP has refuted these allegations. Even before the resignation of Brijesh Merja, BJP leader Narhari Amin had predicted that Congress leaders are unhappy with the party leadership and that more resignations could follow.
He had said, “I believe that some more Congress MLAs would also resign in near future. They are leaving Congress because they are unhappy with the party leadership.”
Moreover, the BJP is also said to be negotiating with the Bharatiya Tribal Party and the NCP, which together have three MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly. This makes winning the second Rajya Sabha seat a near impossibility and it is likely to put the party leadership in a tight spot.
Choosing any leader between Bharatsinh Solanki and Shaktisinh Gohil could be a catch-22 situation for the Congress leadership. It must be kept in mind that Solanki, the son of former Chief Minister Madavsinh Solanki is considered close to Jyotiraditya Scindia who had recently switched loyalties to the BJP and he has a significant clout among lawmakers in Gujarat.
In March, it was reported that a faction of MLAs in the state supporting Solanki had got agitated after the name of Rajeev Shukla and Shaktisinh Gohil started doing the rounds for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Baldevji Thakor and a dozen other MLAs held a meeting in support of Bharatsinh Solanki, giving a clear message to the party high command that a Madhya Pradesh like fiasco may be repeated in the state of Gujarat.
Shukla had however backed out and the Congress fielded Solanki for the Rajya Sabha polls. The grand old party would have heaved a sigh of relief thinking that it averted a major exodus, but a spate of resignations has again put in a crisis situation, as it is compelled to make a choice between two of its leaders- Gohil or Solanki.
