5-time Cong MLA joins BJP, gets berth in Gujarat cabinet

GANDHINAGAR: In a major blow to the Congress in Gujarat, where the party has been facing internal dissent, its five-time MLA and senior Koli leader, Kunvarji Bavaliya, resigned as the legislator to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday. By afternoon, Bavaliya was inducted into the state government although his portfolio remains unannounced.

Bavaliya tendered his resignation as the MLA from Jasdan to assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi after a brief meeting with chief minister Vijay Rupani at his residence. Bavaliya then headed to the BJP headquarters where he was formally inducted by its state unit chief Jitu Vaghani.

The move came as a setback to the state Congress, being run by a young leadership, ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Within hours, former Jasdan MLA Bhola Gohil, a BJP leader from the Koli community, joined the Congress.

Bavalia wields a considerable clout in the community, which constitutes over 22% of Gujarat’s 60-million population. Speaking over his decision to quit the Congress, he alleged that the central leadership’s “caste politics for vote bank” had become “a hurdle in serving my constituency”.

“(Congress president) Rahul Gandhi practices caste politics for vote bank. This didn’t allow me to serve my constituency. I have been carefully observing the way Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the nation towards development. I have faith in Modi, (BJP president Amit) Shah and the state leadership,” Bavaliya said later.

“He is a grassroots leader and will help the BJP to strengthen its base further,” Vaghani said.

Congress’s state president Amit Chavda accused Bavaliya of betraying the party for “personal gains”.

“He joined the BJP for personal gains. He has betrayed his voters and the Koli community that elected him,” he said.

Bavaliya had met Gandhi less than a fortnight ago reportedly to express his unhappiness over the state of affairs in the Gujarat Congress under the young leadership of president Chavda and leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani.

His resignation comes days after another heavyweight and working president Indranil Rajyaguru quit the Congress.

With two more MLAs — Javeed Pirzada and Vikram Madam — having also expressed unhappiness with the party, Chavada and Dhanani face a serious challenge to get the house in order six months after coming at the helm.

All these four MLAs represent the Saurashtra region where the Congress made major inroads in the 2017 assembly elections.

In the run-up to the December 2017 polls, a couple of senior Congress leaders, including Shankersinh Vaghela, left the party.