CLP authorises Sonia to choose its leader

On eve of the first session of the newly formed state assembly, the Gujarat Congress Legislative Party (CLP) remained indecisive and left it for the party high command in New Delhi to choose its leader here.

With heavy weight leaders like former chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela and former MP Vitthal Radadia in fray, the CLP which met on Tuesday authorised party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi to decide who would become the leader of opposition in the state assembly.

The meeting was presided over by central observers Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit and Gujarat state in-charge Mohan Prakash. "The Congress president Sonia Gandhi will take a decision on the new CLP leader in Gujarat in couple of days," said Dikshit after the meeting concluded. She said that the all newly elected Congress MLAs passed a resolution authorising Gandhi to choose the CLP leader.

She also informed that CLP had passed another resolution congratulating Rahul Gandhi on his appointment as Vice President of the Congress party. The Gujarat CLP, in a separate resolution hailed party's Jaipur Declaration.

Members of new assembly take oath

Members of the newly elected 13th Gujarat assembly on Tuesday took oath to discharge their constitutional duties with honesty and commitment.

Out of the 182 members, 178 took oath including chief minister Narendra Modi and two former chief ministers Shankarsinh Vaghela and Keshubhai Patel. The first session of the new assembly begins on Wednesday. Absence in terms of attendance included three BJP MLAs remained absent while one Congress MLA from Morva Hadaf, Savita Khant, had died due to brain haemorrhage, a few days after she got elected.

In the assembly elections BJP had won 115 seats, Congress 61 (now 60), GPP and NCP got two seats each, while one seat each went to the Janata Dal (U) and an independent candidate.