Senior Gujarat Congress leader Jawahar Chavda on Friday resigned from the assembly and joined ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gandhinagar. Chavda is the third Congress leader to leave the party and join the BJP in the last few months. With this, the strength of the Congress party has come down to 73 from 77 seats it had won in 182-member House.
Four-time MLA, Chavda represented Manavadar seat in Junagadh district and is considered to be an influential OBC leader from the Ahir community. He was elected from Manavadar in 1990, 2007, 2012 and 2017.
Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi while confirming the move told PTI: “Chavda has resigned as MLA from Manavadar seat. He came to my residence and handed over his resignation letter. I have accepted his resignation. He has not cited any particular reason. Chavda ceases to be an MLA from today (Friday).”
The resignation comes just days ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled on March 12.
Last year in July, senior Congress leader Kunvarji Bavalia had resigned and was later inducted in the BJP government as a cabinet minister. In February, another Congress MLA Asha Patel resigned from the party and joined the BJP.
The Indian Express reported that Patel after resigning wrote a letter to Congress President Rahul Gandhi and said that she quit because of ‘prevalent infighting’ in the party. She also held top state leadership responsible for her move. Patel alleged that there was a lack of connection between the MLAs and the party.
The latest resignation comes barely a month before the crucial Lok Sabha elections. Chavda’s entry would further strengthen the ruling party as 40 per cent of the population in the state is OBC.