Congress General Secretary Rajeev Satav, who is in charge of the party in Gujarat, claimed that the defection of five MLAs to the Bharatiya Janata Party will not affect the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha elections. He said that 17 MLAs left the party before the 2017 Assembly elections, yet the Congress increased its tally from 59 to 77 seats, and senior leader Ahmed Patel also won the Rajya Sabha elections, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.

“The party emerged stronger after 17 of our MLAs crossed over to BJP [in 2017],” Satav said. “In the same manner, the party would again emerge stronger now even after the exit of the five MLAs.” The Congress leader said 14 of the 17 MLAs who crossed over in 2017 did not win on the BJP ticket. He also claimed that his party would win all 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

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Gujarat Congress MLA Vallabh Dharaviya resigned from the party on Monday, a day before the Congress Working Committee meeting in Ahmedabad. “I have decided to join BJP because there is no vision in the Congress leadership,” Dharaviya said, according to The Hindu.

Apart from Dharaviya, MLAs Kuvarji Bavalia, Javahar Chavda, Asha Patel and Parshottam Sabaria have also quit the party over the last year.

“BJP is misusing the state machinery and also offering money to lure Congress MLAs in Gujarat,” Satav claimed. “This indicates their panic because even in Gujarat, BJP will lose large number of Lok Sabha seats.” In the 2017 Assembly polls, BJP’s tally reduced to 99 out of 182 seats, while that of the Congress rose to 77.

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“Gujarat, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, had given a direction to the country,” Satav said on Monday, DNA reported. “We are sure that Tuesday’s CWC meet will play an important role in shaping the future of the country.”

The Lok Sabha elections for 2019 will be held from April 11 to May 19, and the results will be announced on May 23. In the previous Lok Sabha polls in 2014, the BJP had won all 26 seats in Gujarat.