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In an attempt to avoid poaching, NCP shifts 12 MLAs to Mumbai’s Hotel Sofitel
Till Sunday evening, all the NCP MLAs were staying at Hotel Renaissance in Powai. Then later in the evening, the party decided to divide them into groups of 12 and 34 MLAs and moved them to two different hotels.
In an attempt to keep safe its MLAs from poaching, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) discreetly shifted around 12 legislators to Mumbai’s Hotel Sofitel in Bandra Kurla Complex on Sunday night.
Apart from this, the other 34 NCP MLAs are currently in Hotel Grand Hyatt located in Santacruz.
Till Sunday evening, all the NCP MLAs were staying at Hotel Renaissance in Powai. Then later in the evening, the party decided to divide them into groups of 12 and 34 MLAs and moved them to two different hotels.
Both the hotels have Shiv Sena’s labour union.
“Keeping MLAs in different groups becomes easier to man and we can ensure they are not poached. Also, both the hotels have Shiv Sena’s labour union, so that has made our job a bit easy,” said an NCP leader on the request of anonymity.
After BJP formed a government in Maharashtra on Saturday with the help of NCP’s Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party is struggling hard to keep its MLAs at bay.
The Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP have 56, 54 and 44 MLAs respectively in the newly elected Assembly. Shiv Sena has lodged its members at a suburban hotel, while NCP and Congress are planning to shift their MLAs out of the state by evening.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said the party will take every precaution to keep the MLAs safe (form poaching). A senior BJP had claimed earlier in the day that all 54 MLAs of the NCP have decided to support the BJP.
