Praful Patel in Gujarat; non-committed on votes of two NCP MLAs in Rajya Sabha polls

Anand: Nationalist Congress Party(NCP) is not directly concerned with whatever political activities are going on in connection with upcoming Rajya Sabha election in Gujarat, said NCP leader Praful Patel at Anand in Central Gujarat today.

Patel said NCP wants to emerge as a strong alternative on its own in Gujarat. Even nationally, NCP is not in alliance with any party for last two years.

Patel said Congress had betrayed NCP in previous assembly poll in Gujarat.

He said Congress itself is responsible for present situation it is facing.

Patel was non-committal over support of its two MLAs to Congress candidate Ahmed Patel.

He said the party has yet not decided whom to vote for in Rajya Sabha election.

It should be noted here that both NCP MLAs Jayant Patel alias Boskey and Kandhal Jadeja were present in Shankersinh Vaghela’s birthday bash last month. Jayant Patel was also present when Ahmed Patel filed nomination for Rajya Sabha polls. If both MLAs are asked individually about their stand, they support Shankersinh as they enjoy cordial relations with him. However in public, both MLAs convey that they are going to follow party’s decision regarding whom they should vote for in Rajya Sabha elections. For last couple of years or so, BJP enjoys strategic support of NCP when in need. Last month top news channel Times Now revealed how Praful Patel as Civil Aviation Minister had assigned important contracts of airports to his driver who was shown as director of a company. There are several big scams that if probed, Praful Patel can fall in deep trouble. Despite of old relations with Ahmed Patel, the NCP at this juncture can’t disturb any plan in which Modi or Shah any of two is personally taking interest. It would be difficult for NCP to take stand against Ahmed Patel’s interests, but at this juncture if party has to choose between Ahmed Patel and Amit Shah/Narendra Modi, it would go for Amit Shah/Narendra Modi or would choose abstention.

It’s worth noting that BJP and Congress MLAs will need to show their ballots post voting to party candidate’s agents. However four MLAs – dissolved party GPP’s Nalin Kotadia, NCP’s Jayant Patel and Kandhal Jadeja and JDU’s Chhotu Vasava most probably will not need to show their ballots to agents, and therefore if party agents don’t note down ballot number(noting down ballot number is illegal) secretly they would not know whom these four cast vote for.

DeshGujarat