The Congress on Sunday shifted its Bihar MLAs to Hyderabad ahead of a floor test of the newly-formed National Democratic Alliance (NDA) next week, party leaders aware of the details said.

At least 17 legislators, who were in Delhi to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, reached Hyderabad on a flight on Sunday evening.Congress Legislative Party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan and another MLA VS Dubey are expected to join the group in the coming days, party leaders said.

The development came a day after the party ,at a meeting that was convened by Kharge and attended by the legislators and Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs) on Saturday, decided to exercise “extra caution” to prevent the ruling alliance of the Janata Dal (United), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other smaller parties from luring any of the Congress members to its fold.

“The JD(U) and BJP are desperate to cause a rebellion in the opposition alliance, particularly in the Congress, to strengthen its numerical strength in the assembly in case the Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular (HAM-S) poses any trouble. HAM-S leader Jitan Ram Manjhi is upset with the NDA over denial of one more berth in the newly-constituted Nitish Kumar cabinet,” a party leader said, seeking anonymity.

The Congress worries about the possibility of some of its members quitting the party and joining the ruling parties since a few MLAs have skipped party meetings in recent times, the leader added.

“The BJP is known for stealing MLAs. Those who decline the BJP’s offer to switch sides are put on the run by central agencies like ED, Income Tax and CBI,” a senior Congress leader said, seeking anonymity.

A second senior Congress leader, who also did not wish to be named, said AICC in-charge Mohan Prakash oversaw the plan to move the legislators out of Patna. “They could be brought back to Patna on January 11, a day ahead of the floor test,” the second leader said.

The floor test, which was necessitated after the Janata Dal (United) quit the Mahagathbandhan on February 28 to rejoin the NDA, is scheduled to be held on February 12.

The Congress has 19 MLAs in the 243-member assembly. To be sure, the NDA will, in all likelihood, clear the floor test as it has the support of 128 legislators – 45 from Kumar’s JD(U), 78 from the BJP, four from HAM and one independent.

Bikram MLA Siddharth Saurav and Manihari MLA Manohar Prasad Singh were among those who skipped Saturday’s meeting, without citing any “plausible” reason, party leaders said.

Saurav did not even attend Congress leader’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that was held in the state between January 29 and 31.

Meanwhile, senior RJD leader Bhola Yadav said “all MLAs of the opposition alliance are intact.”

On Congress moving its legislators out of the state, senior BJP leader and deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said such acts are not fit for democracy. “The Congress treats MLAs like bonded labourers. Their freedom is curbed,” Sinha said.