Rajkot:

The BJP today got a major boost during the general body meeting of the Congress-led Rajkot district Panchayat, the all important local body in the home district of CM Vijay Rupani, as it virtually snatched all the six committees with the help of dissidents of the ruling party who even came to participate in the proceedings of the house with BJP members.

For the six committees including the executive committee, education, health and construction related committees, which were selected today the BJP backed dissident faction of Congress led by former president Nilesh Virani won with a simi margin of 22-13. The panel of names for committees proposed by Virani was selected against those put forth by Arjun Khataria of Congress. Interestingly Congress camp had also put some of the names of dissidents in some of the committees proposed by it.

In the 36 member local body Congress had won 34 seats to get overwhelming majority, BJP could get only 2 seats in the last election.

But 21 of the members of Congress had suddenly gone incommunicado four days ago after which BJP had claimed that they were with it.

Today amid high voltage drama and tight security they came to the local body in a bus with the 2 BJP MLAs while the Congress members reached in cars.

During voting one of the vote (of Valiben Talavadia who was among 21 dissidents) was cancelled due to technical fault as she had fallen ill and had raised her hand for both sides.

Despite the first major tactical victory of BJP in the local body which is likely to pave the way for its backed faction eventually snatching the body from Congress, it could not put forth the no-confidence notice against the present regime of incumbent president from Congress party Alapen Arjunbhai Khataria to give the final blow.

The number-game is responsible for it. To give a notice of no-confidence, signatures of only 18 members are required as per rule and the BJP and dissidents have that number but to actually pass it, the number is 24 and at this juncture they were short of it.

BJP obviously won’t take a chance and wait for opportune moment.

Rajkot district General Secretary of BJP Bhanubhai L Mehta however claimed that the no confidence notice would be given in 2 to 3 days.

‘We have snatched all the 6 committees today and the remaining 3 would also be taken by us whenever those are selected. We will also give no confidence notice in 2 to 3 days. We will have the number,’ he said adding that all the dissidents would join BJP in a big event later on.

‘Most of those who have come back with us were in fact our own man and had left us during the Patidar quota agitation. Several of them were from Koli community and have preferred to switch to BJP as their leader Kunvarjibhai Bavaliya is now with us,’ Mehta said.

Earlier, a BJP worker Rameshbhai Tala had died of heart-attack near the District Panchayat office this morning.

DeshGujarat