Bengaluru: The Gujarat Congress MLAs, currently lodged at a private resort in Bengaluru, will be flown back to their home state and not to Delhi to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi, sources said on Sunday.
Congress spokesperson Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters in Bengaluru that they would be returning to Gujarat "directly", contrary to reports that they will be going to Delhi.
"One thing that has been decided is that all of us (the 44 MLAs) will fly to Gujarat, not Delhi," PTI quoted Gohil as saying. He alleged that it was the BJP, which was spreading "canards" that the Congress MLAs would first be flown to the national capital to meet Sonia.
Gohil charged that the saffron party was spreading "false reports" that the MLAs would use the 'NOTA' option in the upcoming Rajya Sabha poll to defeat Ahmed Patel.
However, he declined to disclose when would the MLAs return to their home state.
The Congress has objected to the 'NOTA' option in the Rajya Sabha poll, which is being seen as a prestige battle for the party in Gujarat.
Gujarat Congress had moved 44 of its MLAs to a Bengaluru resort, alleging that the ruling BJP was "intimidating and bribing" its legislators to join its ranks.
Tensions in the Congress camp soared after six MLAs, one after another, abandoned the party just before the crucial Rajya Sabha election scheduled for August 8. Three of the defected MLAs joined the BJP on July 28, fueling speculation that other might follow suit.
Gohil asserted that all the Congress MLAs were "united" and that they would vote for Patel in the August 8 election.
Ahmed Patel, the political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, is said to be staring at a defeat after a series of defections from the party and BJP's alleged attempts to "poach" Congress MLAs.
(With inputs from PTI)
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