NEW DELHI: Determined to carry its poll aggression to the Gujarat Budget Session starting February 19, the Congress is sharpening the skills of its 41 first-time lawmakers out of the total 77 it has in the 182-member House.
“We have almost doubled our tally in the Assembly. We will play a constructive opposition but keep the BJP government on tenterhooks,” Gujarat Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil told The Sunday Standard.
Besides its 77 lawmakers, Congress has the support of two Bharatiya Tribal Party MLAs and two independents, including Dalit leader Jignesh Mewani.
The ruling BJP has come down from 117 to 99 and will not be able to ride roughshod over the opposition, said Congress leaders. Leading the Congress charge will be legislative party leader Paresh Dhanani, appointed by party chief Rahul Gandhi. “We are confident now,” said Dhanani.
To prepare the new MLAs, Congress veterans Ahmed Patel, AICC in-charge Ashok Gehlot, AICC secretary Rajeev Satav, and Madhusudan Mistry held a workshop for them in Ahmedabad from February 9 to 11. “They are good speakers but they had to be made aware of technicalities of speaking in the Assembly. They were also taught how to study government papers,” said Gohil.
In the recent Gujarat Assembly polls, which were a close contest between the Congress and the BJP, the opposition party improved its tally significantly from the 57 seats it had won in the 2012 polls. Just before the Assembly elections, the state Congress was reduced to just 43 MLAs, as 13 lawmakers led by then Leader of Opposition Shankersinh Vaghela quit at the behest of the BJP.
Charging the previous Narendra Modi state government of not following Parliamentary procedures due to a weak opposition, Congress leaders said the BJP will have to be very alert in the new Assembly. “We are in a position to move a no-confidence motion against the Speaker. We can defeat the government in voting on key bills,” said Gohil.
Sources said pressure will be on CM Vijay Rupani as he has to grapple with in-house dissent and an aggressive Congress.