Will going get tough for turncoats?

█ With Paatil at helm in State BJP

State BJP chief calls on party workers to fight on their own strength and not seek ‘Congress hand’ to win election

Newly elected Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil’s call to party members to become aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) and avoid relying on turncoat Congress members to win election may have been well-received by BJP grassroots workers. But the loaded statement may have come as a warning to turncoats who have joined the party in the hope of garnering plump posts.

Addressing BJP workers in Surat, Paatil said, “I personally believe that if Congressis join us or we have to include Congressi and then we win election, should we allow such a situation?” With the audience responding to a weak ‘No’, Paatil sought a stronger response.

When the crowd erupted, Paatil said, “This (loud) voice should reverberate across the nation. That BJP grassroots worker fights on his/her own strength and wins election. We have to put up that spirit and strength at work.” His statement was made in the context of Kaprada seat. Former Congress legislator from Kaprada Jeetu Chaudhary is one of the eight legislators who quit Congress ahead of Rajya Sabha polls in 2020.


In 2019, Congress legislators Alpesh Thakor from Radhanpur and Dhavalsinh Zala from Bayad had quit the party, apart from Parashottam Sabariya, former Congress legislator from Dhangadhra, Vallabha Dharaviya from Jamnagar Rural at the time of parliament election in 2019.

Jawahar Chavda too had quit Congress in 2019. According to a source, “Turncoats like Thakor and Zala were rejected by people of the constituency. Not all those who quit Congress to join BJP were given a chance to contest election as BJP pitched its candidate Raghavji Patel from Jamnagar rural seat in place of Dharaviya who had won the election.

“Only a few like Bavadiya, legislator from Jasdan has been given ministership of water supply, animal husbandry and rural housing in the BJP government, besides Dharmendrasinh Jadeja from Jamnagar North seat who has been appointed MoS Food, Civil Supply, Consumer affairs, Cottage industry,” observed a source.

Even at the time of Rajya Sabha election in 2017, around 10 Congress leaders and legislators shifted their loyalty to BJP. “But this poaching of MLAs remains only to break the Congress party. If you analyse the situation, majority of leaders are sidelined after they join BJP. Thakor and Zala lost election, Narhari Amin joined BJP in 2012, but he was not given any Assembly or Parliamentary election ticket.

In 2020, he was pitched as a third candidate in RS polls as the BJP was not sure of winning two seats. Congress had made him deputy chief minister,” said GPCC chief Amit Chavda.

Former Congress Legislator from Thasra Ramsinh Parmar too lost bypolls. BJP made him Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation’s chairman as a reward for joining the party, but for just one term of 2.5 years. So, will the BJP field turncoat candidates in the by-polls scheduled in September? “People of Gujarat reject turncoats. Past bypolls are an example.


BJP welcomes Congress legislators just to tarnish our image, but those who join the BJP only feel dejected and sidelined as their political ambitions are not addressed,” said Chavda. Calls made by Mirror to Paatil did not elicit a response.

State of Cong turncoats

Five out of eight former Congress MLAs, who resigned from the grand old party ahead of RS polls – Brijesh Merja (Morbi), JV Kakadia (Dhari), Jitu Chaudhry (Kaprada), Pradhyumansinh Jadeja (Abdasa) and Akshay Patel (Karjan) – recently joined the saffron party. Three other members – Soma Patel (Limbdi), Pravin Maru (Gadhada) and Mangal Gavit (Dangs) – did not join the party reportedly as negotiations for a bye-election ticket were not in their favour.