Senior Congress leader from Surat, Dhirubhai Gajera, on Thursday resigned from the party along with his nine supporters, saying that factionalism within the party’s Surat unit led to his defeat in last year’s Assembly elections. Though the 68-year-old leader, who belongs to Patidar community, denied any immediate plan to join the BJP, his supporters told The Indian Express that he may join the ruling party soon.
“I found that factionalism in the Congress resulted in my defeat in the last Assembly elections. I have worked both in the Congress and BJP, and found that such factionalism is not there in BJP. I have not decided to join any political party but if some political personality approaches me, I will definitely join,” Gajera told The Indian Express.
“After my defeat in Varachha Assembly seat, I confined myself to my house and did not take part in any political activity of the Congress. Finally, I decided to resign,” he said.
Gajera praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Congress president Rahul Gandhi was “still immature”. “People like Narendra Modi more than Rahul Gandhi. I admire Modi more,” he said.
Gajera started his political career with Jansangh. He won the Assembly election for the first time in 1995 on a BJP ticket. In 2007, Gajera left the BJP to join the Congress.
“Gajera was nothing to the party and never attended any party meetings…we will not suffer from his resignation,” Surat city Congress president Babubhai Rayka said.