Basking in the glory of passing the eligibility criteria in the Aam Aadmi Party’s quest to establish itself as a national party, Arvind Kejriwal appeared to be heading for a setback amid speculation that at least two of its newly-elected legislators in Gujarat were heading to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The AAP, a newcomer in Gujarat politics, managed to win secure only 5 seats in the 182-member assembly with a vote share of 12.92 per cent. Despite the timid debut, AAP held its head high and Kejriwal promised to do better the second time around.
Two days after the results were declared, AAP MLA Bhupat Bhayani set tongues wagging despite admitting that he was not considering a shift to the BJP. Bhayani, who won from the Visavadar constituency by defeating BJP’s Harshad Ribadiya, was, however, all praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leading to speculation.
“I am not at all unhappy with AAP and I have not taken any decision about joining the BJP as of now. I will decide only after meeting my workers and people. As of now, I am with AAP,” Bhayani said on Sunday, but added a caveat that he will “consult the people first”.
A day later though, Bhayani admitted there was some confusion in his mind which had now been cleared. “I am with the AAP as of now, and I wish to stay with it. There was confusion yesterday, now there is none, now everything is clear. I am not going anywhere,” he told The Indian Express on Monday, the day the ministers in the Gujarat government were administered the oath of office in Gandhinagar.
Who is Bhupat Bhayani?
A Class 10 dropout, Bhayani was a farmer by profession before beginning his career in active politics in 2002 as a BJP worker. The same year, he was appointed president of the BJP’s Yuva Morcha unit for Bhesan taluka. In 2007, he was elevated as vice president of the Morcha for the Junagadh district.
Bhayani continued to rise up the ranks and was appointed vice president of the Junagadh district unit in 2014. He won several panchayat elections in the interim. Bhayani quit BJP after a fallout with Kirit Patel, the party president of the Junagadh district unit following the latter’s defeat in the 2017 Assembly election from the same seat that Bhayani has won this time, reports The Indian Express, adding that several BJP workers, including Bhayani, were booked in criminal cases subsequently.
Bhayani faced charges such as voluntarily causing hurt, and one such case is still pending against him. He joined the AAP in 2020 and was appointed vice president of the party’s Junagadh district unit. The party declared him as its candidate from Visavadar in October this year.
Why is Visavadar important for BJP?
Bhayani won the Visavadar assembly seat in Junagadh district in the recently-concluded Gujarat elections. The win was prestigious as the seat has been held by former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel thrice.
A Patidar leader, Bhayani was with the BJP before moving to the AAP. The BJP had fielded sitting Congress MLA Harshad Ribadiya, who had crossed sides to the party. Bhayani defeated Ribadiya by a margin of 7,063 votes.
What makes Visavadar interesting was that the seat was last won by Keshubhai Patel in 2012 after he had floated a new party and revolted against the BJP under Narendra Modi as chief minister. Wresting the seat back into its fold would make the BJP’s dominant victory in Gujarat even sweeter.
What next for Bhupat Bhayani?
All indications are that the expected shift to the BJP may not happen for now, though there is no assurance that it will not happen at all. Sources cited by IE suggest that Bhayani does not differ from the BJP ideologically and his differences have been limited to individuals.
The IE report, however, says that Bhayani’s change of heart is not sudden and he wanted to take along at least one other party MLA with him to the BJP. This, as per rules, would allow him to duck the anti-defection law since two of the five MLAs would constitute one-third of the party’s strength in the Gujarat Assembly.
Bhayani would face disqualification as an MLA if he chose to switch to the BJP alone. For now, the AAP MLA says he is content being where he is.
“Ab dekhenge future mein, kis tarah se struggle karenge. Kuchch bhi karke, kaam nikalenge. Lekin ab kuchch doosra mirnay nahin karna hai (We will see how we can struggle and get our work done somehow. I don’t intend to make any other decision now),” Bhayani told IE.