Rajkot, 22 June 2013

Already weak, the Gujarat Congress may face further problem from within the organization. Senior party leader and Lok Sabha MP Kunvarji Bavalia has called a meeting of Koli community leaders of Congress on Sunday in Jasdan to discuss injustice to leaders of Saurashtra in general and Koli community in particular in party.

Bavalia, unhappy with the party after not inducted into union ministry in recent reshuffle has invited another Lok Sabha MP Soma Patel to Sunday meeting. Both Bavalia and Soma Patel are from Koli community and they are MP from Saurashtra region. They beleive that Saurashtra should get representation in union ministry. They also believe that Koli community that has always been loyal to Congress party is not getting deserving place in the organization or government.

Jethalal Jora, Chandrikaben Chudasama, Bholabhai Gohil are other Congress leaders expected to attend the Sunday meeting. Bavalia has clubbed the cause of Koli community, Saurashtra and OBC leaders in the agenda of proposed meeting.

Bavalia was senior MLA of Congress party, regularly elected from Jasdan. He surprised everyone through his victory on Rajkot Lok Sabha seat in 2009. Rajkot is traditionally BJP bastion, but Bavalia won the election. His down time started when his daughter couldn’t win by-poll of Jasdan seat. Bavalia himself lost the assembly election last year in Botad which is a Koli community dominated seat. Congress party was expecting Bavalia to cater victory on several Koli community dominated seats, but Bavalia himself lost the election, and couldn’t meet the expectation of party on other seats too. In recent expansion of union ministry, Bavalia was hoping for berth, but he and Somabhai Patel(whose son recently lost assembly by-poll) were not selected.

It is believed that Bavalia is in touch with former Congress leader and Porbandar BJP MP Vitthal Radadia who joined BJP early this year.Radadia has talked to Bavalia about injustice to Saurashtra leaders by Congress.