Another Gujarat Congress MLA quits ahead of Rajya Sabha elections

In another big jolt to Gujarat Congress before the Rajya Sabha elections, Morbi MLA Brijesh Merja on Friday resigned from the membership of the state assembly.

The resignation was accepted by Gujarat Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.

The development comes just a day after two Congress MLAs Akshay Patel and Jitu Bhai Chaudhary tendered their resignations from their Assembly seats.

Gujarat Congress chief Rajeev Satav had blamed the BJP for poaching MLAs and said that BJP's priority is only power and not people.

"The BJP government of Gujarat does not have the money to improve the health facilities of Gujarat even in the time of this disaster, but there is money for the purchase of MLAs. BJP's priority is only power, not the suffering of the people," he had tweeted.

In March, five Congress MLAs from Gujarat resigned, bringing the party's total tally in the state to 68.

The latest developments have left the Congress dismayed as it has injected an element of uncertainty in its plans to win two of the four Rajya Sabha seats.

The state assembly has 182 seats, out of which 103 are occupied by the BJP while the congress now has 65. To win a Rajya Sabha seat, a candidate will require 37 votes. After the fresh resignations, it will be tough for Congress to win more than one seat.

Elections for Rajya Sabha are scheduled for June 19.