The Congress on Sunday lodged over two dozen of its MLAs from Gujarat at a resort in Sirohi near Jodhpur in Rajasthan, fearing poaching by the BJP ahead of the election for four Rajya Sabha seats from Gujarat.

The step was taken two days after three Gujarat Congress MLAs switched over to the BJP. The party MLAs have been lodged in Wild Winds resort at Sirohi on the Gujarat-Rajasthan border near Ambaji, said a Congress leader.

Accusing the BJP of engaging in “unethical practices”, Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda said the MLAs had assembled at the resort to discuss and fix the party’s strategy ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections and ensure the victory of its candidates.

“It is surprising that despite a country-wide pandemic crisis, the BJP has resorted to unethical tactics like intimidating, buying and influencing public representatives in Gujarat. So, we brought our party representatives here to discuss future plans,” said Chavda.

The MLAs were earlier lodged in three resorts in Rajkot, Ambaji and Anand in Gujarat. They were moved to Rajasthan after a police complaint was filed on Sunday against the Rajkot resort for alleged violation of lockdown norms.