Sources said a section of suspended office-bearers of the Gandhinagar district Congress unit have whisked away, reportedly at the behest of the BJP, their own party members of the panchayat to some unknown destinations to ensure smooth passage of the no-confidence motion.

"I have issued a whip to our party members to remain present at the general board meeting and to vote against the motion. If the members fail to obey it, strict disciplinary action will be taken against them," district Congress president and former Minister Kasam Bapu Tirmizi said today.

Tirmizi charged that some of his own partymen, who had been suspended from the Congress for their anti-party activity during the last Assembly election in Gandhinagar, were encouraging the three Congress members of the civic body to vote for the motion, directly helping the BJP in this case.

On the other hand, a senior BJP leader alleged that the Congress had "hijacked" at least three of its panchayat members to some unknown place in North Gujarat to ensure the defeat of the motion. Tirmizi denied this, saying that the three BJP members had `disappeared' on their own, for "these members are opposed to the style of functioning of the district BJP leadership".

Sarojben Thakor, an OBC Congress member, is the president of the 28-member Gandhinagar District Panchayat, in which the BJP has the strength of 18 members, the Congress five, the RJP four and one Independent. The BJP enjoys the support of at least two of the four RJP members and the lone Independent in the civic body.

It will require a two-thirds strength (19 out of the 28 members) for the BJP to win the motion. However, the local BJP leadership appears to be on a sticky wicket, since three of its members have been allegedly "hijacked" on the eve of the general board meeting of the panchayat.

When the civic body came into existence after the last panchayat polls, its original strength was only 17, with BJP having 11 members, Congress five and one Independent. But, the panchayt's strength rose to 28 when 11 more members from the neighbouring talukas of Mansa and Dehagam were inducted into it following the bifurcation of Mehsana district and talukas. All the new 11 members belong to the BJP, and this appears to have prompted the BJP leadership to bring a no-confidence motion against the panchayat chief and its vice-president who belongs to the RJP, in its bid to capture power in the civic body.

In fact, Sarojben Thakor was suspended from the Congress for seeking the BJP support during the formation of various committees of the panchayat about a year ago. But, she still works for the Congress and has filed an appeal with the PCC leadership for her reinstatement in the party, which is being considered at present. "Despite groupism within my party, I firmly believe that the BJP-sponsored no-confidence motion must be defeated on the floor of the panchayat tomorrow," she asserts.