Gandhinagar: In a major jolt to the main opposition Congress party, Mohansinh Rathwa, the senior-most legislator in Gujarat has resigned as MLA and as Congress party’s member. Rathwa reached the State BJP headquarters to join the ruling party and had a saffron scarf and cap in the presence of State BJP general secretaries Pradipsinh Vaghela and Bhargav Bhatt.

Welcoming Rathwa to BJP, State general secretary of the party, Bhargav Bhatt said Rathwa has been MLA from 1972 to 2022 for 11 times. Rathwa’s sons Rajendrabhai and Ranjitbhai Rathwa also have joined BJP. Rathwa said his son Ranjitsinh is Engineer and he had expressed a wish to join BJP. Mohansinh said he is not able to walk and he doesn’t wish to contest the party.

Rathwa is a legislator from Chhota Udepur seat of Central Gujarat. He is a veteran tribal leader. Early this year Mohansinh had wished to retire and sought a ticket for his son Raju Rathwa in upcoming assembly polls for Chhota Udepur seat, while rival Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Naran Rathwa had sought a ticket for his son Sangram Rathwa for the same seat. Mohansinh Rathwa had then stated that he would not retire and contest from the same seat once again. However today in reply to a media question, he made it clear that he doesn’t want to contest the next election. He also clarified that he has taken a decision to join the BJP before Congress party’s any decision regarding ticket allocation.

1944-born Mohansinh Rathwa has been getting elected to the State Assembly since the early 1970s. He is the senior-most MLA in the State assembly. He had been a cabinet minister in the past. This is once again, a major jolt to Congress in the tribal belt of Gujarat.  Mohansinh’s son Ranjitsinh Rathwa was a Congress candidate for the Chhota Udepur Lok Sabha seat in the year 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Mohansinh was also the Leader of the Opposition in-charge in the past in the State assembly. Mohansinh was given the award of the best legislator of Gujarat for the year 2019. Rathwa started his political career with the rank of Village Sarpanch. He is a ten-term MLA who lost the assembly election once only in the year 2002.