Jaipur, July 27: The Rajasthan High Court on Monday rejected a writ petition moved by Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Madan Dilawar against the merger of six legislators of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the Congress party. Madan Dilawar had sought for quashing the merger of BSP MLAs with Congress, which had helped the ruling party in retaining a majority in the Rajasthan assembly. Rajasthan Political Crisis: Ashok Gehlot Speaks to PM Narendra Modi About 'Behaviour' of Governor Kalraj Mishra.

Mayawati's BSP had also moved the Rajasthan High Court earlier today, seeking to become a party in the petition by Dilawar against the merger of six BSP MLAs in the state with Congress party. In the 2018 Rajasthan assembly elections, of the 200 total seats, the Congress won 100 seats. In September last year, six BSP MLAs had formally joined the Congress, taking the ruling party's tally to 106. Rajasthan Political Crisis: Former Law Ministers Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibal & Ashwani Kumar Write to Governor Kalraj Mishra Over Proposal to Convene Assembly Session.

The Rajasthan High Court's dismissal of Dilawar's writ petition has come as a relief to the Congress government, headed by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, which is facing a political crisis following a rebellion of 19 MLAs including sacked Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. Here it may noted that on Sunday the BSP issued a whip to its six MLAs, directing them to vote against the Gehlot government.

Rajasthan plunged into a political crisis after differences between former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and Gehlot came out in the open. Pilot was removed as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and as the state unit chief of the party following his revolt. The Gehlot government has a wafer-thin majority in the state assembly.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2020 03:02 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).