Confined to a resort in Udaipur ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, Congress MLAs from Rajasthan are making the best of it.
Activities lined up for the Congress MLAs and independents supporting the party have ranged from "antakshri" to cricket, as revealed by video clips that have surfaced online.
The Congress had on June 2 shifted its MLAs to the luxury Taj Aravali resort and spa fearing horse trading by the BJP ahead of the June 10 polls to four seats of the Rajya Sabha from the state.
The BJP has also sequestered its MLAs at Devi Ratn hotel in Jaipur’s Jamdoli but the party is calling it a "training camp". Videos and pictures emerging from the Congress camp show legislators enjoying cultural evenings, sports activities and magic shows among others.
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On Monday evening, a show by noted magician Aanchal was held. "The show amused the MLAs. The CM also attended the show," said a legislator.
As the day begins, some of the MLAs go to gym and others for a walk in the lush green garden of the hotel, which is located at a picturesque location on the outskirts of the lake city. Some legislators play cricket and others enjoy swimming. Women legislators also keep themselves engaged in "antakshri" and such activities.
A movie show in the theatre of the hotel was also organised. In the middle of this, state Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra held a meeting about organisational elections, an MLA said.
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On the other hand, BJP MLAs start the day with yoga and exercise at the Jaipur hotel. The BJP is holding sessions on party polices, ideology, achievements of the Union government in the past eight years to keep the MLAs engaged.
"We are holding sessions for the MLAs in the training camp for the Rajya Sabha. On the other hand, people are watching what the Congress legislators are doing. The government is in the hotel and having fun, enjoying shows," a BJP spokesperson said.
"People of the state are suffering, law and order is deteriorating but the Congress is not bothered at all," he said. Congress MLAs are likely to come to Jaipur from Udaipur in a chartered plane on Thursday afternoon. They will be shifted to a hotel and taken to the state Assembly on the day of voting on June 10.
The Congress with its 108 MLAs in the 200-member state Assembly is set to win two seats. After winning the two seats, it will have 26 surplus votes, 15 short of the required 41 to win the third seat. Congress leaders claim they have the support of 126 MLAs, including 108 from the party itself. The party needs 123 MLAs to win three seats.
The BJP has 71 MLAs in the state Assembly, enough to get one seat comfortably. After that, it will have 30 surplus votes, which along with three of the RLP are set to go to media baron Subhash Chandra, who has filed his papers. He will need eight more votes to win the seat.
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(With PTI inputs)
