Three Gujarat MLAs ditch Congress, embrace BJP; Rajput to fight RS poll

The Congress in Gujarat received yet another jolt as three of its senior MLAs resigned and joined the BJP in the presence of its national president Amit Shah at the party headquarters, Kamalam, in Gandhinagar on Thursday.

All the three MLAs — Congress chief whip in Gujarat Assembly and Siddhpur MLA Balwantsinh Rajput, Virmagam MLA Dr Tejshri Patel and Vijapur MLA Prahlad Patel — tendered their resignations to Speaker Ramanlal Vora in the afternoon and said they were not happy with the turbulence in the Congress. More drama is expected on Friday, when Rajput will file his nomination for the Rajya Sabha (RS) election against Congress's Ahmed Patel.

This comes a week after the Congress received a major setback after the veteran Shankersinh Vaghela quit. The party had been trying to put up a brave front for Patel, who is set to seek re-election to the Rajya Sabha from Gujarat.

Congress's ordeal does not end here, since 11 more of its MLAs are almost certain to bid goodbye to the party. They are said to be in touch with some BJP leaders and Vagela. If they too resign, Patel's vote share will decline from 47 to 43, which would mean a defeat for him.

After joining the BJP, Rajput said, "I was with the Congress for 35 years and have served on different positions in the organisation and government offices as well. But, I was disturbed by the internal rift in the party, and the high command seemed least interested in resolving it. I also observed that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gujarat and India have developed immensely. This inspired me to join the BJP. I will not demand a ticket and will handle what the party assigns me."

Dr Tejshri Patel said, "I saw great indiscipline within the Congress. Members have been making frivolous statements, but face no action. Alpesh Thakor, a leader of the Thakor community, shared the dais with me at a function in my area. While addressing the public, he said he would decide a candidate for Congress from Viramgam and that person would be from the Thakor community. Now, this is not only an insult to me but an injustice to the Patel community."

Prahlad Patel said, "I realised I can progress only if I am with the party in power. I had joined the Congress after defecting from BJP five years ago. But, the Congress does not have any respect for the Patel community and never has anyone from the community in important positions. I have made the Congress party strong in Vijapur, a BJP stronghold, but now I will break the spine of the Congress there by contesting the polls as a BJP candidate."

However, Patel later retracted his statement, saying he will not seek a ticket and the BJP high command will make a decision.

During the press conference, the Gujarat BJP chief Jitu Vaghani said, "Although from different parties, we had a friendly relationship. I called Rajput and said 'you are a popular leader in your region. You should join the BJP as millions of people have put their faith in the party led by PM Modi. We welcome all the three members to the BJP in the presence of Shah."

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel is speculated to be the mastermind behind the plot, as Patel has been in constant touch with these MLAs from the north Gujarat region. The three MLAs also confessed they were in touch with Patel, who, being a minister, always supported them for development works in their areas.

"This has happened because of the Congress. Many of their leaders and workers feel suffocated in the party as their voice is muzzled. Ahmed Patel has been contesting RS polls for 24 years, so why can't the Congress give a chance to another candidate. The paty is ruled by one family and their sycophants," the deputy CM said.

...& ANALYSIS

• With 11 more MLAs likely to quit the party, Ahmed Patel, who is seeking re-election to the Rajya Sabha on a Cong ticket from Gujarat, is now facing an imminent defeat.
   
• The BJP is looking to shore up its numbers in the RS, where it lacks majority, and this development will help the ruling party take a firm step towards increasing its RS numbers.