Rajasthan BJP meeting on Aug 11, MLAs to stay in Jaipur hotel

State BJP president Satish Poonia said it was important to protect BJP MLAs so they will all stay in the hotel for three days.

The Rajasthan unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will hold a meeting of all its MLAs on August 11 at a hotel in the state capital and the opposition legislators will camp in facility till the assembly session starts three days, the party’s Gulab Chand Kataria said on Sunday, while adding that they believe the floor test could be held on the first day itself.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP was herding its MLAs to Gujarat and into hotels which shows there is division within the opposition party. (HT photo)

The assembly session is likely to decide the fate of the Ashok Gehlot government that was rocked last month by the rebellion of a faction of MLAs led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The ruling party has expressed confidence it will have adequate numbers, while the BJP claims the government will not survive.

“We have called our MLAs to Hotel Crown Plaza at 4pm on August 11,” Kataria said. “After everyone arrives, we will hold the meeting of the legislature party sometime in the evening, and, if required, the MLAs will stay there till August 14.”

BJP has 72 MLAs in the 200-member Assembly. Three MLAs of Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) are supporting the BJP.

“Earlier, we thought they may move confidence motion on August 16 or 17 but now we believe they will call for the motion on August 14 itself. There will be discussion on it and on the basis of division of votes, it will be decided if this government has the numbers or not,” he said.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot said the BJP was herding its MLAs to Gujarat and into hotels which shows there is division within the opposition party. “We don’t believe in horse-trading but now the BJP is feeling the pinch from their own game of toppling the Congress governments,” he said at Jaisalmer on Sunday.

“They (the BJP) have been exposed. We are in government and kept our MLAs together because of horse-trading. But what are they (BJP) worried of? They are herding their MLAs at three-four places. A huge divide among them can be seen,” alleged Gehlot, addressing newspersons at Jaisalmer.

Earlier, BJP shifted 18 of its MLAs, most of them from the tribal districts of south Rajasthan, to Gujarat on Friday and Saturday. MLAs supporting the Ashok Gehlot government, including 10 Independents, are camping in two hotels in Jaisalmer since July 31. Earlier, they stayed in a luxury hotel in Jaipur from July 13.