Jaipur, August 13: The Bahujan Samaj Party issued a fresh whip to six legislators of the Rajasthan assembly who won on its ticket in the 2018 assembly elections. The Mayawati-led party has directed them to vote against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in the no-confidence motion that would be moved by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The new whip comes nearly a month after the BSP had issued a similar directive to the six MLAs, directing them to vote against the Congress government in a trust vote scenario. In case of defiance of the whip, the legislators face the risk of losing their assembly membership. Sachin Pilot Meets Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, Arrives at His Residence For Key CLP Meet; Watch Video.

The six MLAs - R Gudha, Lakhan Singh, Deep Chand, JS Awana, Sandeep Kumar and Wajib Ali - had jumped ship to the Congress in September last year. Since the entire legislative flock of the BSP switched sides, the Speaker had approved their merger with the ruling party.

New Whip Issued Issued to 'BSP MLAs'

BSP supremo Mayawati, in July, decided to judicially challenge their merger with the Congress. After an in-fighting erupted within the party, pushing the government to the brink, the BSP decided to file a plea in the Rajasthan High Court against the merger.

While the proceedings are underway in the HC, the six embattled MLAs moved the Supreme Court on Saturday. They filed a plea seeking the transfer of their case to the apex court.

While the counsel representing the legislators have claimed that the merger is valid since all the six BSP MLAs switched ranks, the party has disagreed. BSP national secretary Satish Chandra Mishra said such a state-specific merger is invalid as the Bahujan Samaj Party is a "national" political entity in the Election Commission records. Only if all the state units of the BSP merge with the Congress, such a merger will be facilitated, he claimed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 13, 2020 11:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).