Incidentally, in the Diu municipal council election held early this month, Congress had managed to retain power by winning 10 out of 13 seats. (Representational image)
BARELY TWO weeks after the party failed to make an impact at the Diu municipal council election, the BJP has lost power in Diu district panchayat also as five of its seven elected members, including the president resigned from the party early this week. However, party leaders claim the resignations have not been accepted and that the issue will be resolved.
Diu district panchyat president Shashikant Solanki, vice president Ashwini Bamania and members Pooja Panjani, Dhaniben Solanki and Jentilal Somalal tendered their joint resignation from the primary membership of the BJP to Bipin Shah, president of Diu district unit of the BJP on Monday afternoon. Shah accepted their joint resignation letter and has forwarded it to Gopal Tandel, president of Daman and Diu state unit of the BJP.
Interestingly, Shah himself also tendered his resignation from the post of Diu district unit chief hours after accepting resignations of the district panchayat members. “Accepting moral responsibility of for defeat of Bharatiya Janta Party in recent Diu Municipality Election-2017, I the udersinged tender my resignation from the post of President, Diu District BJP, Diu,” Shah wrote in his resignation letter.
Incidentally, in the Diu municipal council election held early this month, Congress had managed to retain power by winning 10 out of 13 seats. The BJP could manage only three. On the day the result of the election was announced, Kirit Vaja, the vice president of Daman and Diu state unit of the BJP had resigned his post accepting moral responsibility of the defeat.
“The party wanted me to step down as the president of the district panchayat. However, I had support of the elected members. Therefore, we decided to leave the party together instead of resigning as the district panchayat president. We are no longer with the BJP. Nor are we going to join any other political party right now. We shall continue to run the district panchayat as independents,” Shashikant Solanki told The Indian Express on Wednesday.
Solanki said that another reason of they quitting the BJP was the party and Praful Patel, the administrator of Daman and Diu were no listening to them. “It was difficult to run the district panchayat as neither administrator Praful Patel nor MP Lallu Patel or party leaders were listening to people. They would just instruct us. Though the administrator has a BJP background, he doesn’t seem like a BJP man anymore. When Diu municipal council election was going on, demolition drive was undertaken at the residence of MP Lallu Patel. What signal does it send? The administrator should listen to people,” the president further said.
Incidentally, Shashikant Solanki was arrested by Diu police in April this year for allegedly raising slogans against Praful Patel at a rally taken out in protest of sealing of liquor vends in the Diu island following a Supreme Court order banning sale of alcohol along highways.
With the resignation of the five members, BJP effectively looses power in the Diu district panchayat. Shashikant was earlier with Congress but had joined the BJP in the run up to the 2015 election to the panchayat body. Subsequently, the BJP won seven out of total eight seats in the panchayat body and captured power. Congress was wiped out as the remaining one seat too had gone to an Independent. But now, the strength of the BJP has been reduced to merely two.
The turncoat members claimed Anti-defection law would not apply to them. “We the above named Diu District Panchayat members do hereby declare that we have left Bharatiya Janta Party with immediate effect and forms (sic) new Political Group. On BJP symbol, there are total seven members elected in Diu District Panchayat and out of total seven members, we i.e above named five members have left BJP, which amounts to more than 2/3rd majority and which is in accordance with Rule 7 of Daman and Diu District Panchayat
(Disqualification on ground of Defection) Rules, 2013,” they stated in their joint resignation letter.
However, state unit chief Tandel said no resignations has been accepted. “Shah, in his capacity as the Diu district unit president has no power to accept resignation letter. Only the state chief has the authority. Therefore, we have not accepted their resignation letters. Nor have we accepted resignations of Shah and Vaja. The matter will be discussed at upcoming meeting of the state unit,” Tandel said.
Tandel however, denied Shashikant’s charge that party leaders were not listening to people. “It is cooked up story. We grant, the ban on liquor sale along the highway is a big issue. But what Praful Patel can do when it had been ordered by the Supreme Court? He is just one of the many officers,” the state unit chief said.
Tandel also threatened that the party would invoke Anti-Defection Law if the turncoat members insisted on quitting the party. “According to our calculation, two-third members means 5.25 members in Diu district panchayat. Apparently, they are only five. So, we shall seek their disqualification if they insist on leaving the party,” he said. Praful Patel could not be reached for a comment depsite repeated attempts.
