Jaipur, July 26: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) issued a "whip" on Sunday directing the six legislators which won on its ticket in the 2018 polls to vote against the Congress-led government in case of a no confidence motion. The whip was signed by Satish Chandra Mishra, the National General Secretary of the Mayawati-led party.

The BSP, in its statement, also claimed that all six MLAs were issued a separate notice informing that their merger with the Congress in Rajasthan is not valid. Ashok Gehlot Says 'Democracy In Danger, Centre Attempting Coup in Rajasthan Amid COVID-19 Pandemic'.

Since the BSP is a recognised "national party", such a merger is tenable under Constitution's Xth schedule only if the entire party - in all states and at the Centre - merges with the Congress, the statement said.

Read Full Statement Issued by BSP

The whip by the BSP comes amid an intense political crisis in Rajasthan, which was triggered by the rebellion of now-sacked Deputy CM Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs earlier this month.

Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who claims to be enjoying the support of 102 MLAs, has demanded the Governor to convene an Assembly session where he could prove his numbers. To validate his strength, a floor test is necessitated.

Earlier this week, the BJP - which is the prime opposition in the state - moved to the Rajasthan High Court with a plea challenging the switchover of the six BSP MLAs to the Congress camp earlier this year.

The BSP legislators - R Gudha, Lakhan Singh, Deep Chand, JS Awana, Sandeep Kumar and Wajib Ali - had officially accepted the membership of Indian National Congress on January 4 this year. Their merger was approved by Speaker CP Joshi, citing the switchover of entire state legislative party into the Congress camp.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 26, 2020 10:48 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).