Gandhinagar: After former MLA Ambrish Der and MLA Arjun Modhwadia, on Monday another Congress leader Dharmesh Patel resigned from the Congress party. Patel was a Congress candidate against CR Patil in Navsari Lok Sabha seat previously. He had also been a municipality president. In another move, former assembly candidate Mulubhai Kandoriya has also joined BJP. To witness the joining of two Ahir community politicians (Der and Kandoriya), folk artist Mayabhai Ahir was present at the State BJP headquarters today.

Meanwhile, more names of Congress leaders are emerging on surface for their possible joining of the ruling BJP. Among them is Manavadar Congress MLA Arvind Ladani and former MLA of Mahuva, Dr. Kanubhai Kalsariya. Names of Lunawada MLA Gulabsinh Chauhan, Patan MLA Dr. Kirit Patel, and Chanasma MLA Dinesh Thakor also pop up time-to-time for the possibility of their joining BJP. However, none of these leaders have confirmed such plans.

Meanwhile, Modhwadia and Der’s induction in the BJP has been smooth even locally. BJP leaders MLA Hirabhai Solanki (Rajula) has welcomed Der’s joining BJP, while former MLA Babubhai Bokhiria (Porbandar) has also welcomed the move of Modhwadia joining BJP.

Congress had 17 MLAs after the 2022 assembly polls. After the resignation of Khambhat, Vijapur and Porbandar MLAs, the party has now 14 MLAs. By-polls of vacant assembly seats(Porbandar, Khambhat, Vijapur, Visavdar, Vaghodiya) will take place alongside the LoK Sabha polls. In the case of Porbandar, Khambhat, and Vijapur the seats have gone vacant due to the resignation of sitting Congress MLAs. In the case of Visavdar, an AAP MLA resigned and joined BJP. In the case of Vaghodiya, an independent MLA has resigned and joined BJP. It is interesting to see, how many of them continue with Congress or AAP, by the time, Gujarat goes to the next assembly polls in December 2027. BJP had won 156 out of 182 assembly seats in 2022. Among 26 seats where BJP lost, 5 are vacant now, while on 2 seats, independent rebel BJP MLAs(Bayad and Dhanera) are back to BJP in supporting mode. One more MLA, Kandhal Jadeja (Samajwadi Party) from Kutiyana seat supports the BJP, independent of his party’s national stands.

In another development, former Gujarat Congress spokesperson Jayrajsinh Parmar who is presently in BJP’s special team to induct Congress leaders to BJP fold today said that there’s a group that is trying to disturb the current Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil. He said the cottage industry of groupism and infighting in the Gujarat Congress is active and it is only responsible for the exits of Congress leaders.

Interestingly, all this is happening ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra’s entry in Gujarat, which is scheduled on March 7. Recently a sitting Rajya Sabha MP of Congress, former union minister, and five-term Lok Sabha MP Naran Rathwa and his local municipality chief son Sangramsinh Rathwa joined BJP.

The Congress sources say the party is vulnerable not just due to those leaders who leave the party and join BJP, but more because of those leaders who are still in the party and in secret understanding with BJP. They may eventually jump to BJP, but meanwhile may damage the Congress party from within. Nothing can be strategized or no strategy can be executed on the ground because of such vulnerability which is real.
DeshGujarat