Rajasthan Congress MLAs and ministers played various sports such as cricket and football before watching a movie about Mahatma Gandhi at a hotel in Jaipur. The legislators and ministers are lodged at a hotel ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19.
The politicians were later joined by Avinash Pandey, Rajasthan Congress in-charge.
Led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, senior party leaders have been holding parleys with the MLAs to know their mind and also convince them on how Congress is still the right party for them. Showing them the Gandhi movie is also part of a strategy to make MLAs understand the values that Congress claims to stand for.
The entire exercise has been underway ever since CM Gehlot accused the BJP of attempting to topple his government by offering Rs 10 crore in advance as part of an agreement of Rs 25 crore to vote for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is taking no chances owing to past instances of Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka being toppled by the BJP.
Congress has 107 MLAs in the Rajasthan assembly along with most of the 13 independents whereas the BJP has 72 in addition to three RLP MLAs. The Congress party expects 124 votes in its favour although it needs only 102 votes to secure both of the RS seats it is contesting.
The BJP can easily win one but has only 24 votes against 51 required to win the second Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan. It has now decided to field the second candidate fuelling speculation about horse-trading. Such allegations also prompted Congress' chief whip, Mahesh Joshi, to lodge a complaint against the BJP with the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Operations Group.
CM Gehlot has also termed the decision to postpone Rajya Sabha polls which were due in March as a ploy to buy time for the BJP to indulge in horse-trading. In response, the BJP has claimed that allegations of horse-trading are a sign of insecurity among CM Ashok Gehlot's Congress government in Rajasthan.
ances of Congress governments in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka being toppled by the BJP.
Congress has 107 MLAs in the Rajasthan assembly along with most of the 13 independents whereas the BJP has 72 in addition to three RLP MLAs. The Congress expects 124 votes in its favour although it needs only 102 votes to secure both of the RS seats it is contesting.
The BJP can easily win one but has only 24 votes against 51 required to win the second Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan. It has now decision to field the second candidate fuelling speculation about horse-trading. Such allegations also prompted Congress' chief whip Mahesh Joshi to lodge a complaint against the BJP with the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Special Operations Group.
CM Gehlot has also termed the decision to postpone Rajya Sabha polls which were due in March as a ploy to buy time for the BJP to indulge in horse-trading. In response, the BJP has claimed that allegations of horse-trading are a sign of insecurity among CM Ashok Gehlot's Congress government in Rajasthan.