A wafer-thin majority Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has been pushed to the brink as some its disgruntled MLAs are put up in a five-star hotel in Gurgaon near Delhi.
A section of the media said as many as eight MLAs are missing out of the 14 disgruntled MLAs supporting the Kamal Nath government.
Among the eight MLAs, four are from the Congress, one is independent, while the rest are from the BSP and the SP, Congress sources said. Of this, one BSP MLA, Rambai has returned.
In 230-member assembly, if 14 MLAs tender resignations, the government would not be able to pass the trust vote.
If four Independents withdraw their support to Congress, then a minimum of six more MLAs will be enough to ensure the fall of the government.
The Congress has 114 MLAs, while BJP boasts of 107.
The simple majority mark is 116. Four Independents are supporting the Congress government as also two Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs and one Samajwadi Party. Two seats are vacant following the death of a Congress and BJP MLA.
Trading accusation against each other, veteran Congress leader Digvijaya Singh accused BJP of luring Congress MLAs by offering them Rs 25-45 crore each.
He also said the Karnataka model will not work in Madhya Pradesh, amidst reports of four MLAs reaching Bengaluru and others joning them tomorrow.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath has ruled out any danger for his 15-month government.
The mastermind for luring the Congress MLAs is former Chief Minister and BJP leader Shivraj Chouhan, alleged Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Minister Jitu Patwari.
BJP leader and Leader of Opposition Gopal Bhargava said he has no information of Congress legislators being held “captive” in a hotel against their will.
In fact, it was the Congress that formed the government by luring the legislators, Bhargava said and added that it was opportunistic.
Amidst the political drama, the Congress has decided to issue a whip to all its MLAs for the March 26 polls to three Rajya Sabha seats in the state
“We are going to issue a whip and if any of our lawmaker violates it, his membership will be scrapped in just one hour,” Madhya Pradesh Legislative Affairs Minister Govind Singh told reporters.