AHMEDABAD: Mahendrasinh Vaghela, former Congress legislator and son of former Chief Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, on Saturday joined the ruling BJP in Gujarat. He was inducted into the party by its state president Jitu Waghani.
Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said that with Mr. Vaghela’s entry into the BJP, the party had got a new leader with mass base in north Gujarat.
The junior Mr. Vaghela was a legislator in the previous Assembly and had voted against the Congress during the Rajya Sabha polls in which Ahmed Patel was contesting from the Congress.
However, during the Assembly elections last year, Mr. Vaghela did not contest the polls as the father-son duo resigned from the Congress.
On Saturday, he joined the party amidst speculations that he will contest the next parliamentary polls as the BJP candidate from Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat in north Gujarat.
His father, however, was not impressed with his son’s decision and questioned his move in a press conference. “I repeatedly told him not to hurry and join any party. He should have consulted his supporters and the electorate before joining the BJP,” Shankarsinh Vaghela told reporters in Ahmedabad.
“He should still call his supporters and discuss the options available before him. If they support his joining the BJP then he should, otherwise he should explore other options,” Mr. Vaghela, known as Bapu, said immediately after his son was inducted into the saffron party.
On the internal differences in the family, Chief Minister Rupani said that “it was their family matter” but stressed that Mahendrasinh’s entry into the BJP had the backing of the party high command.