Ahead of the July 5 Rajya Sabha bypolls for two seats in Gujarat, the State Congress has decided to shift its MLAs to Mount Abu, a popular hill station in adjoining Rajasthan, said party leaders on Wednesday.
The main Opposition party said its MLAs will take part in a brainstorming session at Mount Abu to chalk out a strategy for the ongoing Budget session of the Assembly and denied the move was linked to the bypolls.
Party sources said Congress legislators will leave for Mount Abu this evening and stay there till the early morning of July 5.
Voting for the bypolls, in which MLAs constitute the electoral college, is scheduled to start at 9 am Friday.
Congress chief whip in the Assembly, Ashvin Kotwal, claimed the decision to shift the MLAs to Mount Abu has nothing to do with the bypolls.
He denied suggestions that the move is prompted by fear of any "poaching" attempt by the ruling BJP ahead of the voting.
However, Congress MLA Dhavalsinh Zala claimed the party is reeling under the fear of cross-voting by some of its MLAs.
Zala is a staunch supporter of disgruntled Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor.
Both have openly criticised their party's move to shift MLAs out of Gujarat and declared they will not go to the hill station with other colleagues.
Notably, the Congress had shifted 44 of its MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru to thwart a possible "poaching" attempt by the BJP ahead of the 2017 Rajya Sabha polls.
According to Kotwal, all party MLAs have "unanimously" decided to hold a brainstorming session at Mount Abu to chalk out a strategy for the ongoing budget session of the Assembly.
"There is no question of any fear or pressure. Since there is no sitting of Assembly till Monday, all the MLAs have unanimously decided to utilise this mini vacation and hold a workshop at Mount Abu.
"We will brainstorm and exchange ideas to chalk our our strategy for the upcoming debates in the Assembly on the budgetary allocations," Kotwal said. Kotwal, however, admitted that one or two party MLAs may vote for BJP candidates during the bypolls.
"Both Zala and Thakor are still our MLAs. We have not suspended them yet. Barring one or two MLAs, all legislators are with us and will not engage in cross-voting," said Kotwal.
Thakor even refused to give a guarantee that he will vote for Congress candidates, claiming he has not received the whip issued by the party for the bypolls.
"I have not received party whip yet. I can only say that I will cast my vote on July 5. Only time will tell whom I have voted for," said Thakor.