One of two MLAs voted for BJP in Guj RS polls, admits NCP

Senior NCP leader Praful Patel today admitted that one of the two party MLAs had voted for the BJP candidate in the recent Gujarat Rajya Sabha election.

He, however, dismissed the Congress' allegation that both the NCP MLAs in Gujarat had voted against its candidate Ahmed Patel in the August 8 polls.

The former Union minister said while Jayant Patel alias 'Bosky' had voted for Ahmed Patel, the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, another NCP MLA, Kandhal Jadeja, voted for the BJP in the election to the Upper House of Parliament from Gujarat.

"The NCP was very clear from the beginning that both of our MLAs will vote for Ahmed Patel and the whip was issued accordingly. However, Jadeja defied it and voted for the BJP, whereas Bosky stuck to the party directive," Patel, the NCP in-charge for Gujarat, said at a press conference here.
 

Asked if the party was mulling any action against Jadeja, he said it was an "internal matter of the NCP".

Ahmed Patel won the cliffhanger of the election with 44 votes after the Election Commission (EC) invalidated the votes of two rebel Congress MLAs, who had allegedly showed their ballots to BJP president Amit Shah.

Congress sources had said Patel won the polls on the votes of the 43 party MLAs and the lone JD(U) MLA in the Gujarat Assembly, Chhotu Vasava, and not on the votes of the NCP MLAs.

The narrow margin of Patel's victory amidst the see- sawing number game and cross-voting has, however, soured the relations between the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led party.

The NCP, last Friday, skipped a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to express its displeasure over the allegations levelled by some Congress leaders that the two Gujarat MLAs of the party had not voted for Ahmed Patel in the Rajya Sabha election.

Asked about a possible alliance with the Congress for the Gujarat Assembly polls due later this year, Patel said a decision to that effect would be taken by the NCP high- command.

"The NCP was part of the Congress-led UPA government in the past. We had entered into a pre-poll alliance with the Congress for the 2012 Gujarat Assembly polls. We may enter into an alliance again if the Congress approaches us," he said.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia alleged that the NCP did not stand by his party when it needed its support.

"The Rajya Sabha election was a fight to save democracy. Just like some others had come forward to support us, the NCP too should have stood by us. However, it was unfortunate that the NCP failed to do its bit, which was very disheartening for us," he said.