New Delhi: With less than a day remaining before the crucial trust vote in Bihar, Congress legislators, who had been stationed in Telangana for a week, returned to Patna on Sunday, news agency PTI reported citing party sources.
The legislators arrived at Patna airport late in the evening and were set to stay at the residence of former Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav. Under tight security, legislators departed from the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad after being escorted from a resort.
During their stay until Monday, the Congress legislators will lodge alongside their counterparts from RJD and the Left at 5, Deshratna Marg — the government bungalow allotted to Tejashwi Yadav during his tenure as Deputy chief minister.
The 'Mahagathbandhan', comprising the Congress, RJD, and Left alliance, recently lost power due to JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's sudden rejoining of the BJP-led NDA, less than a month back.
Although the NDA holds a comfortable majority with a combined strength of 128 MLAs in the 243-member state assembly, the Congress, with only 19 MLAs, harboured concerns of potential defections ahead of the trust vote, prompting its decision to relocate its legislators to the southern state.
Meanwhile, RJD legislators, who had initially gathered at Tejashwi Yadav's residence on Saturday for a luncheon but were asked to remain until the trust vote, appeared to be immersed in a festive atmosphere.
The party shared a video showing them gathered around a bonfire, with the former deputy chief minister, dressed in a tracksuit, applauding a young MLA as they sang and played guitar.
In the meantime, Bihar Chief Minister and JDU national president Nitish Kumar convened a meeting with party MLAs at the residence of party leader and state minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary in preparation for the upcoming floor test.