Muristek
Congress MLA demands Sonia Gandhi make Mayavati opposition presidential candidate
Jaipur: In a surprising move Congress MLA of Rajasthan, Joginder Singh Awana has demanded that BSP chief Mayawati be made the Presidential candidate from Congress party.
Awana has written a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi regarding this. It is worth mentioning here that Awana is one of those 6 BSP MLAs who joined Congress in 2019 and now heading a government body.
In his letter to the Congress president, Awana wrote, "Mayawati has united the Dalit community of entire country with her efficient leadership, especially in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan."
"If Mayawati is declared the presidential candidate of the Congress party in the upcoming presidential election, the Dalits will be indebted to the Congress party, Dalits are strong voters of the Congress party and by declaring Mayawati as the Congress Presidential candidate, the Dalit community will always be in favour of the Congress party and strengthen it in future," reads Awana’s letter.
In a media interview, Awana said that all his 5 colleagues are in favour of this demand as it is a fact that it is Mayavati who made us MLA and our respect for her will always remain.
This move of Awana is being seen as an indication of the loyalty shift of six Congress turned BSP MLAs as during the recent Rajyasabha elections, four of them had openly expressed their annoyance with the Congress government for not fulfilling the promises made to them though, in the end, they supported Congress.
Notably, a petition is pending in the Supreme Court under Anti Defection Law regarding the BSP MLAs joining the Congress.