Congress MLA Asha Patel resigns; accuses party of divisive politics
In a jolt to the Congress in Gujarat ahead of Lok Sabha polls, party leader Asha Patel resigned yesterday, accusing the party of factionalism and divisive politics. Patel, Member of the Legislative Assembly from Mehsana district's Unjha, resigned as the legislator and quit the party. She mentioned Congress is trying to create a rift between different castes in her resignation letter to Rahul Gandhi.
Speaker accepted Patel's resignation letter, said sources
In her resignation letter to party president Rahul Gandhi, Patel said, "On one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 10% quota for Economically Weaker Section, while the Congress is trying to create a rift between different castes here." She submitted her resignation as MLA to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi in Gandhinagar yesterday morning. The Speaker accepted the resignation, sources said.
Unjha is one of seven Assembly segments within Mahesana constituency
Unjha is one of the seven Assembly segments within the Mahesana Lok Sabha constituency, currently held by the BJP. Of the seven Assembly segments, the BJP holds four while the Congress holds three, including Unjha. PM Modi's hometown Vadnagar comes under the Unjha constituency.
Resigned because 'leadership has been ignoring me': Patel
Asha Patel had won the election in 2017 against Narayan Lalu Patel after the Patel quota agitation roiled the state. In her letter to Gandhi, Patel said she had resigned from the party "due to prevalent infighting and because the leadership has been ignoring me." Her representations about the state of affairs in Gujarat Congress weren't heeded for the last one year, she claimed.
Patel has taken decision for 'personal gains: State Congress chief
Asked whether she would join the ruling BJP, Patel said she would consult the people of her constituency before taking any decision. State Congress chief Amit Chavda said Patel seemed to have taken the decision for "personal gains". "Till yesterday, she had not made any representation to the party," Chavda claimed. Last year, senior Congress MLA Kunvarji Bavaliya switched sides and joined the BJP.
In 2017 elections, BJP bagged 99 seats, Congress won 77
After joining BJP, Bavaliya was made a minister in the state cabinet. In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP had won 99 seats in the 182-member house while the Congress bagged 77. With these two exits, the opposition party's numbers have fallen to 75, while BJP's tally has increased to 100 after Bavaliya won a by-poll from Jasdan in December.
