AHMEDABAD: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in Gujarat on Monday issued a show-cause notice to its lone MLA Kandhal Jadeja for defying the party whip and cross-voting in the recently-concluded Rajya Sabha elections.
Though Jadeja was directed to cast his vote for a Congress candidate in the June 19 elections to four seats, he apparently voted for a BJP nominee.
The NCP directed Jadeja, who represents Kutiyana seat in Porbandar district, to explain his stand within the next seven days.
"Though you were asked to vote for a Congress candidate and a whip was also issued for the same by the party, you indulged in indiscipline and defied the whip. You are supposed to submit your explanation in seven days. Action will be taken as per the explanation furnished by you," stated the notice signed by Gujarat NCP unit president Jayant Patel.
Jadeja, whose party shares power with the Congress in Maharashtra and a constituent of the UPA bloc, had been openly saying that he would vote for the BJP in the elections to the Upper House of Parliament.
He had also voted for a BJP candidate against the party whip in the 2017 Rajya Sabha elections when Ahmed Patel of the Congress was in the fray.
In the June 19 elections, all three candidates of the BJP- Abhay Bhardwaj, Ramilaben Bara and Narhari Amin- got elected to Rajya Sabha.
The Congress could ensure victory of only one of its two candidates, Shaktisinh Gohil, while Bharatsinh Solanki lost as he failed to garner enough votes.
The situation would have been different for the Congress if eight of its MLAs had not resigned after the announcement of the Rajya Sabha polls.
Gohil of Congress got 36 votes and Solanki got 30 votes plus some 1.99-second preference votes which added up to 31.9.
While 170 out of the total 172 MLAs exercised their franchise, two Bharatiya Tribal Party MLAs did not turn up to vote.
In the 182-member House, whose effective strength stood at 172 due to resignation of eight MLAs of the Congress and two vacancies caused by court cases, the ruling BJP has 103 members and the Congress 65.