Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel reshuffled his cabinet, inducting 19 new ministers and elevating Harsh Sanghavi to Deputy Chief Minister. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Friday, with several existing ministers continuing in their roles.
The resignation of Balwantsinh Rajput (who was also the chief whip), Tejashreeben Patel and Prahlad Patel reduced the Congress's tally to 54 in the 182-seat assembly.
The Congress had sent the 44 legislators to the resort to fend off 'poaching' attempts by BJP.
Patel had challenged the high court order which had dismissed his plea questioning the maintainability of Rajput's election petition.
Except for Anant Patel, the rest 16 MLAs of Congress were present in the House on Monday.
Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Balwantsinh Rajput challenged the EC's decision to invalidate the votes of two rebel Congress MLAs in Rajya Sabha polls.
The move comes after at least six Congress MLAs in Gujarat resigned from the party to join the BJP.
Congress Member of Parliament DK Suresh on Sunday said that the Gujarat Congress is united and all the 44 MLAs are ready to vote for Ahmed Patel in the election scheduled for August 8.
Of the 10 MLAs, eight including Vaghela and his son, who had voted for the BJP candidates in the Rajya Sabha poll, were expelled by the Congress on Wednesday.
Patel was administered the oath as the 18th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat.
Apart from these leaders, the Congress also hinted at forging a pre-poll alliance with Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and bringing on board Chhotu Vasava, the lone Janata Dal-United MLA from the state.
The desertion of MLAs is worrying for the party which has fielded its senior leader Ahmed Patel for the Rajya Sabha election.
The Congress leader is one of the most powerful functionaries in the party, having the reputation of being a trouble-shooter and strategist.
On Tuesday, the Congress had approached the EC against NOTA in RS polls.
He secured required 44 votes after votes of two Congress MLAs who cross-voted for BJP were rejected by EC.
"Those who won in the recount are now asking the Election Commission why Modi is going to Gujarat," he said.
The elections to the Upper House from the state, where assembly polls are due later this year, have received greater attention with BJP president Amit Shah and Union Minister Smriti Irani entering the fray and the Congress putting up its heavyweight Ahmed Patel.
In Gujarat, Amit Shah's tactic of spiriting away Congress leaders and MLAs is jocularly called 'shop-and-buy votes'. Although haemorrhaging the Congress is a vital aspect of his election blueprint, an aide said, "Amitbhai wants to win on our strengths and not by weakening the Congress."
The EC maintained that use of none of the above in Rajya Sabha polls was not a new move as it was introduced in 2014 after the Supreme Court in 2013 made it mandatory to have the NOTA option in EVMs.
Patel's victory, which came against heavy odds, has given the Congress and the rest of the Opposition the confidence that Modi and Shah weren't invincible.
The SC asked Gujarat Congress 'why is it so late in raising question over the use of NOTA'.
Azad said the government uses north-east 'only for political purposes' and not to provide succour to flood-affected people.
