Denied ticket, MLA Kalabhai Dabhi resigns from Congress

Congress MLA from Kapadvanj Kalabhai Dabhi resigned from the party on Thursday after the party denied him the ticket for Kheda LS seat, and instead fielded former BJP leader Bimal Shah.

“The selection of Bimal Shah as the Congress’s candidate from Kheda seat has hurt me and numerous other party leaders and workers. With a heavy heart, I and my supporters resign from the party’s primary membership because of this,” Dabhi wrote in a letter to state Congress president Amit Chavda.

However, Dabhi did not quit as MLA from Kapadvanj, which is one of the seven assembly seats that form Kheda LS seat. Chavda could not be reached for a comment, but the party’s spokesperson Manish Doshi said that efforts would be made to pacify Dabhi.

Dabhi told DNA that the decision to field a turncoat candidate would hurt the Congress. “I am a Congressman by birth, but the decision to field Shah will hurt the party. We are angry about losing the seat and the party suffering because of it,” he said.

The Kapadvanj MLA also said that he was not given the ticket at the behest of senior Congress leader Dinsha Patel, who represented Kheda seat five consecutive times between 1996 and 2009, before losing to Devusinh Chauhan in 2014. Chauhan is also the BJP candidate in the election.

“Dinsha Patel brought Bimal Shah into the Congress, and threatened to quit the party if I was given ticket. This is why the party chose Shah over me,” he claimed.