BENGALURU: Sonia Gandhi’s right hand man Ahmed Patel needs 43 votes to win his Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat on August 8. Forty-four Congress MLAs have been herded into the Eagleton resort on Mysuru Road, 22 km away from Bengaluru, protected from the all-out poaching offensive launched by the BJP in multiple states. With six MLAs already having flown its coop of 57 since the ouster of strong man Shankersinh Vaghela, the Congress is fighting rearguard action to ensure the reelection of Patel.
Karnataka, an old theatre of anti-poaching campaigns, is ruled by the Congress but the party’s worries have increased since the Gujarat MLAs were flown in and penned in early Saturday morning. Some MLAs are fuming that they have been separated from their mobile phones, which they ostensibly need to keep in touch with their constituents back home. Three MLAs from south Gujarat — Dharshibhai Khanpura from Kankrej, Mahesh Patel from Palanpur and Govabhai Rabari from Deesa — were indignant enough to demand to be flown back. “Their constituencies were hit by flooding. The MLAs want to talk to officials in their constituencies but the resort manager took away their phones,” a source in Eagleton said. Some senior Congress leaders are also likely to come to Bengaluru to take a call. The three MLAs may also be moved to Kodagu.
Reports say four senior Congress leaders were left in Gujarat to plan strategy. Two of the three Rajya Sabha seats are guaranteed for BJP’s Amit Shah and Smriti Irani. The third is coveted by Patel, but the BJP has fielded a recent Congress defector as a challenger. Given that 11 MLAs cross-voted for the NDA presidential candidate Ram Nath Kovind, Patel’s anxieties are at an all-time high.
Sources said as energy minister D K Shivakumar is in Singapore, his brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh, Congress MLC C M Lingappa, and party leader Saleem Ahmad are handling operations at Eagleton. Suresh, in whose constituency the resort is located in Bidadi, said, “We are taking care of the MLAs. The KPCC is only coordinating their stay and other facilities and not paying for their expenses.
L7L/day spent to host MLAs
According to sources at Eagleton Resort, Gujarat Pradesh Congress has booked 35 deluxe rooms, each costing J8,000-10,000 per day. “As a package, it costs J7 lakh per day for food, spa and other facilities. We do not know how many days they will stay here,’’sources said