India / 2 Bharatiya Tribal Party MLAs extend support to Gehlot-led Rajasthan govt

Jaipur: A regional party with two MLAs that withdrew support from the Congress government in Rajasthan has announced that it will now back chief minister Ashok Gehlot. The CM received letters of support from the Bharatiya Tribal Party this evening.

“Both the Bharatiya Tribal Party of India (BTP) MLAs announced their support to the government by meeting with their state executive officials and discussing their demand,” Ashok Gehlot tweeted after the party called on him.

Velaram Goghra, BTP’s Rajasthan chief, had said earlier that the party has been giving issue-based support to the Congress and if the government meets their demands, they will consider supporting it in case it comes to a floor test. He added the BTP voted for the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections last month after the government promised to meet its demands.

The two BTP members were among 101 lawmakers that attended the Congress legislature party meeting at a Jaipur hotel on Tuesday. They later left the hotel saying they would take a call on supporting the party at an “appropriate” time.

BTP MLA Rajkumar Roat on Tuesday said police snatched keys to his car and that he was under detention and several people were asking him to go with them. The video soon went viral. Pilot’s social media team circulated Roat’s video to highlight how the government was harassing lawmakers. The BJP, too, cited the video to claim the government was intimidating the lawmakers.

On Wednesday, Roat said he was not harassed. “...I had put out the videos, the incident was true but it was a case of mistaken identity by police. They did not recognise me,” he said.

Claiming the support of over 100 MLAs, Gehlot has alleged that his former deputy Sachin Pilot has been conspiring to dislodge the government from the day of its formation in December 2018. The CM, in an interview to a TV channel, said Pilot had only 12-15 MLAs with him. With the addition of two more MLA, Gehlot, it appears, has further improved his numbers.

In the 200-member house, the majority mark is 101. The BJP has 72 MLAs and has been watching the developments in the state. The Congress has accused the BJP of trying to dislodge the state government.