Jaipur: Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) chief and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal has attributed the cross-voting in Friday’s Rajya Sabha polls by BJP MLA Shobharani Kushwaha in favour of Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari to the ‘alliance’ between senior BJP leader Vasundhara Raje and Congress Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Beniwal also said that the Raje-Gehlot ‘alliance’ started 22 years ago.
The RLP leader said that the Congress had accused the BJP of horse-trading before the Rajya Sabha elections, but it was the grand old party which in reality indulged in horse-trading.
“Three MLAs of our party voted for BJP-backed Independent candidate Subhash Chandra as promised. Till date, Gehlot was accusing Chandra and BJP of horse-trading, but I think horse-trading was done by the Congress. The alliance of Raje and Gehlot has again come to the fore in Rajasthan,” he said.
RLP, which was a BJP ally before the farmers’ protest, had announced to support Chandra who was backed by the BJP in the Rajya Sabha polls.
Rajasthan BJP on Friday suspended Dholpur MLA Shobharani Kushwaha on charges of cross-voting. Kushwah reportedly cast her vote for Congress candidate Pramod Tiwari. Had Kushwah not voted for Tiwari, he might have lost as he would fallen one short of the required 41 votes.
–IANS