New Delhi, Mar 1 (IANS): In order to prevent poaching, the Congress has asked all its observers, party in-charges to keep tab on all its elected MLAs in recently held elections and inform the central leadership about the same on the counting day on March 10 to keep its flock together.

The senior observers have been asked to remain in states on the counting day. P. Chidambaram is a senior observer of Goa, Jairam Ramesh of Manipur, Mohan Prakash of Uttrakhand, Bhupesh Baghel of UP and and Ajay Maken is of Punjab. Party In charges have also been asked to be present in the states from March 10.

The Chhatisgarh Chief Minister will look after two states and Rajasthan Chief Minister the other three states where counting will take place on March 10. Congress party sources said it will arrange planes to transfer MLAs to safe places in Raipur or Jaipur if need be.

Sources say that Congress want to protect MLAs from being poached and is likely to shift them after March 10. The meeting on Sunday with the two Congress chief ministers -- Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also discussed this issue.

The Congress fears poaching as in 2017, despite emerging as a single largest party in Goa and Manipur, the party could not form the government. The Congress is anticipating similar kind of poaching in all the four states and in UP also which might witness a hung assembly, sources said.