Ahead of Jharkhand floor test, ruling alliance MLAs arrive in Hyderabad

The MLAs of the ruling JMM-led alliance in Jharkhand landed in Hyderabad on Friday amid the coalition's fears that the BJP may attempt to "poach" them in the run-up to the trust vote to be faced by the newly-formed Champai Soren government.

About 40 legislators arrived at the Begumpet airport here in two flights, Congress sources said. AICC Telangana in-charge Deepa Das Munshi and state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar received the MLAs.

It was not immediately known where the ruling coalition MLAs would be accommodated.

A senior leader of the ruling coalition had said in Ranchi that the decision to shift the legislators to Hyderabad, capital of the Congress-ruled Telangana, was taken considering that the opposition BJP may make attempts to "poach" them.

"We were given 10 days to prove the government's majority. We can’t take any chance during the period as the BJP might try to contact our MLAs," the senior leader said.

A video released by the JMM-led coalition on Thursday showed the support of 43 legislators in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly.