Gujarat Congress And Ahmed Patel In Deep Trouble, Reports Say Up To 16 MLAs May Quit Congress

News18 has reported this morning that upto 16 Congress members of legislative assembly (MLA) will quit the party ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections this August This development comes close on the heels of party veteran Shankarsingh Vaghela’s resignation from the Congress.

As for the plans of those who’ve quit the News18 report says that three of the MLAs who have quit have already joined the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). These three MLAs will not be qualified to vote during the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections as they’ve submitted their resignations as MLAs to the Gujarat legislative assembly speaker.

What these developments mean is that Ahmed Patel, the political secretary and close aide to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, who has filed his nomination on Wednesday to renew his Rajya Sabha term for the fifth time, may find it difficult to win the election.

Normally, his re-election to the Upper House would not have been difficult, but the exit of Shankarsinh Vaghela from Congress and the recent resignations make it increasingly improbable. The Congress, which has 57 MLAs in the 182-seat Gujarat Assembly, needs a minimum of 45 votes to retain the seat and facilitate Patel’s election to Rajya Sabha. Three MLAs have already resigned and if reports about the 16 MLAs turns out to be true then it is more or less certain that Ahmed Patel will not make it to the Rajya Sabha.