Team News Riveting
Ahmedabad, November 8
Senior Congress leader and a 11-time MLA in Gujarat Mohansinh Rathva today quit the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The move of 78-year-old leader ahead of assembly elections in Gujarat has come as a big jolt to the Congress. He is the senior most leader of Congress in the state and a prominent tribal face.
Rathva is a 11-time Member of the Legislative Assembly and currently represents the Chhota Udaipur (ST) constituency in central Gujarat. Before 2012, he had represented Pavi-Jetpur (ST) constituency in the Chhota Udepur district.
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.
After sending his resignation letter to state Congress chief Jagdish Thakor, Rathva reached the Gujarat BJP office in Ahmedabad where he was inducted into the party by state general secretaries Bhargav Bhatt and Pradeepsinh Vaghela.
Rathva’s sons Rajendrasinh and Ranjitsinh also joined the BJP at the function. When asked if the BJP will give him a ticket for the Assembly polls, Rathva claimed he is “100 per cent” sure.
When asked if he left Congress because the party denied a ticket for his son, Rathva replied he had decided to join BJP before Congress takes a call. “The Congress never said that they will not give me a ticket (for my son),” he said, adding that he decided before Congress said anything on the issue.
“I was impressed by the work done by the BJP government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in our tribal areas. That is the reason why I have decided to join BJP,” he added.
