Gandhinagar: In a jolt to the Gujarat Congress ahead of the state Assembly polls due later this year, tribal leader and three-time MLA Ashvin Kotwal resigned from the party on Tuesday and joined the ruling BJP. Kotwal (58) had won the Khedbrahma seat in the Sabarkantha district, reserved for Scheduled Tribe candidates, on a Congress ticket during the Assembly polls in 2007, 2012, and 2017.
Talking to reporters, Kotwal claimed "injustice" in Congress for his decision to quit the party. Gujarat BJP president C R Patil welcomed Kotwal into the saffron party-fold during a function held at the state BJP headquarters 'Kamalam' in Gandhinagar on Tuesday afternoon. The state Assembly secretariat in communication said Kotwal had resigned as MLA from the Khedbrahma seat and his resignation was accepted by Speaker Nimaben Acharya on Tuesday morning. Before joining the BJP, Kotwal said he had also resigned from the primary membership of Congress.
"I was not happy with the Congress's functioning. Instead of giving tickets to those who are popular among the masses, the party leadership used to favor only those who remained loyal to them. I fear they can also deny me a ticket in the future and because of such injustice, I am now joining the BJP,'' Kotwal told reporters. Kotwal also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat, had offered him to join the BJP in 2007, when he was elected as MLA for the first time.
"I firmly believe that tribal areas of Gujarat witnessed development under Modiji. He invited me to join the BJP in 2007 saying he needs dedicated people like me to work for the uplift of tribals. Though I did not join the BJP in 2007, I became a huge fan of Modiji since then," Kotwal said at a press conference. The state Assembly elections are due in December this year. Following Kotwal's resignation, the Congress' strength in the 182-member state Assembly has reduced to 63, while the BJP enjoys a majority with 111 members.
PTI
