Ahead of Rajya Sabha election, Mayawati piles pressure on Congress and her defector MLAs

Ravi S Singh

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 2

A day after BSP asking the Rajasthan governor and the assembly speaker to debar its six party MLAs, who defected to ruling Congress in the state, from casting votes in the upcoming election to Rajya Sabha, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday piled up more pressure on them.

She has directed that the six MLAs, who had won on BSP ticket but defected to Congress, will never be allowed to return to party fold.

BSP sources said that soon after a letter was written to the governor Kalraj Mishra and speaker CP Joshi, the Congress launched a whisper campaign that the BSP would withdraw the petition against the MLAs in the court seeking their disqualification from the assembly under anti-defection law, should they vote against its (Congress) nominees in Rajya Sabha elections.

The source said the Congress’ game plan is to create confusion by planting false ideas.

“Neither the cases against them will be withdrawn, nor will they be ever taken back to BSP,” BSP Rajasthan president Bhagwan Singh Baba said.

Mayawati’s firm stand has left the Congress in a tizzy. The votes of the six MLAs and Independent in the 200-member state assembly is crucial for victory of Congress’ two out of three nominees.

The hearing against the six MLAs, who had won on BSP tickets in 2018 assembly elections but merged with the Congress, is in final stages in Supreme Court.

The worry for the Congress is that even if the verdict comes a few days after the Rajya Sabha election, which is scheduled on June 10, the validity of these MLAs’ votes could be subject to judicial review.

The BSP has made a smart pre-emptive move by writing a letter to the governor and the speaker not to allow these MLAs, who had contested on BSP symbol, to vote on ground that the party has decided not to support any nominee for the Rajya Sabha election.

The upshot is that the Congress would want a modus vivandi between the BSP and the MLAs, and get the latter’s votes through cross voting in a medium of secret ballot.