Alpesh had joined the Congress in October 2017 in the presence of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
Alpesh Thakor, president of the Kshatriya Thakor Sena, met Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at his residence on Thursday, sparking rumours that he may cross over to BJP soon.
Thakor was accompanied by his two lieutenants Dhavalsinh Zala and Bechraji Bharat Thakor, who are both Congress MLAs from Bayad. The three have been close since Alpesh catapulted into the state's political scene when he led an agitation against alcohol prohibition and demanded jobs for youth.
Alpesh had joined the Congress in October 2017 in the presence of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state.
However, there have been indications that he has been disgruntled with the state Congress leadership. He has been conspicuously absent from party meetings, especially the one called by state party in-charge Rajiv Satav with MLAs and leaders in Ahmedabad.
Congress leaders in the state have also been ignoring Alpesh, and have avoided commenting on issues related to him. This is said to have aggravated Alpesh, since his community allegedly backed the party in the cases of violence against north Indians in the state.
Migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh were attacked in six districts in northern Gujarat last year after a man from Bihar was arrested for allegedly raping a 14-month-old girl from the Thakor community. Alpesh was accused of instigating the violence that prompted more than 60,000 migrant workers to flee Gujarat.
Alpesh was also appointed co-in-charge of Bihar state by Rahul Gandhi, but he has never been involved in the state's proceedings. He and some supporters had even gone to New Delhi to meet Rahul to air grouses, but the Congress chief is said to have avoided meeting him.
Despite repeated attempts, Alpesh remained unreachable for comment. "I have not met the CM," said Dhavalsinh, "as I was in my constituency visiting several villages. I got the news that Alpesh met the CM in the morning, but have not been able to confirm this. I tried calling him three to four times this morning, but he did not take my calls. I can confirm this news only after confirmation from our leader."
Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel too denied any such development and said the meeting was a routine one. "We cannot connect the dots like this on the basis of some MLA meet the Chief Minister," he said. "It is possible that they were discussing issues faced within their constituencies."
Relationship Rift
- The Kshatriya Thakor Sena president joined Congress in October 2017, ahead of state polls
- However, there has been a souring of relations with Rahul avoiding meeting him on several occasions
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Alpesh Thakor")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}