Another Congress MLA quits to join BJP ahead of Guj assembly polls; second in two days
Ahmedabad (PTI): In another jolt to the opposition Congress on the second day in a row ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls, senior MLA Bhagwan Barad on Wednesday resigned as a legislator and primary member and is set to join BJP.
Barad, who represents the Talala seat in Gir Somnath district, sent his resignation letter to Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor and also handed it over to Speaker Nimaben Acharya.
Barad told reporters in Gandhinagar that he decided to quit the party after consulting his supporters and will join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) without any pre-condition to get a poll ticket.
A day earlier, veteran Congress MLA and tribal leader Mohansinh Rathva resigned as a legislator and party member and crossed over to BJP.
A prominent tribal leader, Rathva is a ten-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and currently represents the Chhota Udaipur (ST) constituency in central Gujarat.
Rathva had announced that he would not seek a ticket for the next month's Assembly elections but wanted the party to field his son Rajendrasinh Rathva from his seat instead.
Gujarat will vote in two phases on December 1 and 5. The counting of votes will be taken up on December 8.
In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls, the Congress had won 77 seats restricting BJP's tally at 99 in the 182-member House.
One more Congress MLA Bhagwan Barad resigns from Congress and post of MLA. He is likely to join BJP today.
— Dr Safin 🇮🇳 (@HasanSafin) November 9, 2022
Total 17 MLAs have left Congress and Joined BJP in last 5 years.
Congress Khatm Hai,
AAP hi Vikalp Hai! pic.twitter.com/NmUAa8r9Gn
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Put petty politics aside; it's not about one party, but India: Rahul on TMC's loss in polls
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the BJP's victory in Bengal and Assam assembly polls a "theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party's mission to "destroy" Indian democracy.
Gandhi also came out in support of the TMC, which has been trounced by the BJP in the polls, and urged those gloating over the loss of Mamata Banerjee's party to put petty politics aside.
"Some in the Congress, and others, are gloating about TMC's loss.They need to understand this clearly - the theft of Assam and Bengal's mandate is a big step forward by the BJP in its mission to destroy Indian democracy," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"Put petty politics aside. This is not about one party or another. This is about India," he said in his post.
The BJP ousted Trinamool Congress from power in Bengal and captured power for the third time in a row in Assam in results of assembly polls declared on Monday.
