Former BJP MLA Shamji Chauhan, who was denied a ticket in the last Assembly elections, and former Rajkot mayor Ashok Dangar, joined the Congress on Tuesday.
The two leaders and their supporters were welcomed to the Congress by state party president Amit Chavda and party's Gujarat in-charge Rajeev Satav.
Both Chauhan and Dangar belong to the Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
Chauhan, who was elected to the Assembly from Chotila seat in Surendranagar in 2012 on a BJP ticket, had quit the party after being denied a ticket during the December Assembly elections. Belonging to the influential Koli community, Chauhan was appointed as parliamentary secretary by the state government in 2016.
Dangar, on the other hand, was with the Congress earlier. He was mayor of Rajkot between 2000 and 2003 when Congress was in power in the municipal corporation. He had joined BJP in 2012, before resigning recently, to rejoin Congress.
Talking with reporters, Chavda claimed that the two had joined the party without any pre-condition.
Chauhan accused the BJP government of having an anti-OBC mindset and ignoring the Koli community. He said that Kolis were the second largest community in the state after Patidars, but hardly any Koli MLAs had been given any posts in the government. He also said that the government had failed on several fronts.
Dangar said that there was no improvement in the condition of OBCs, and law & order situation had worsened in the state in the last few years.
Minutes after the two leaders joined Congress, a few local party leaders from Banaskantha joined the BJP.
State BJP general secretary KC Patel said that former district panchayat member Narayansinh Dabhi and taluka panchayat member Vihaji Thakor were among the 71 Congress members who joined the BJP on Tuesday.
REVERSE SWING
Minutes after 2 leaders —Shamji Chauhan and Ashok Dangar — joined Congress, a few local party leaders from Banaskantha joined the BJP.
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 "Ex-BJP MLA Shamji Chauhan and former Rajkot mayor Ashok Dangar")
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