Ahmedabad: The political events engineered by BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in Gujarat over the past fortnight are very uncharacteristic of Modi, who would normally not entertain poaching of opposition MLAs into the BJP fold.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. Modi needs all the 26 Lok Sabha seats from Gujarat - or at least almost of all them - to realise his Prime Ministerial dream.
In the past fortnight alone, as many as five Congress MLAs have lined up at the office of the Assembly Speaker with their resignations. With that formality having been completed, the MLAs have hopped over to 'Shri Kamalam', the state BJP headquarters, only to be welcomed amid much fanfare and have the saffron scarf wrapped around their necks. If insiders are to be believed, this exodus is expected to continue for a few days more.
Chhabil Patel, Congress MLA from Abdasa in Gujarat's Kutch district who has resigned and joined the BJP, says that his sole intention in joining the party is to strengthen Modi's chances of being PM.
"If Narendra Modi can provide such good governance in Gujarat, we as Gujaratis should do all that we can to ensure he serves the country as well," says Patel.
Prabhu Vasava, the lone Congress MLA from Surat district, who has also switched over to the BJP, says that the people are overwhelmingly in favour of Modi and the BJP and it makes sense to be with the people than swim against the tide.
Apart from Patel and Vasava, other Congress MLAs who have crossed the fence over to the BJP are Bavku Undhad, Jasa Barad and Rajendrasinh Chavda. Add to that the father-son duo of Vitthal and Jayesh Radadia - both Congress MLAs - who quit a few months ago. Vitthal Radadia has been assured a Lok Sabha seat while his son Jayesh is a minister in Modi's cabinet.
Clearly Modi is a man in a hurry. The Gujarat Parivartan Party, which won two seats in the 2012 assembly elections, has merged into the BJP earlier this week. The GPP might have had just two seats but it did enjoy the support of a sizable section of the influential Patel vote of Saurashtra.
State BJP president RC Faldu is candid enough in admitting this exercise is being done with the general elections in mind. "We are running the BJP, not a bhajan mandali. If we want to change the government at the centre, if BJP has to come to power, what is wrong in welcoming people into the party," he said.
The Congress is crying foul, saying unfair means are being used to poach MLAs. Leader of opposition Shankersinh Vaghela said, "If you are really so powerful in Gujarat, why are you breaking the Congress.. And that too, this is not voluntary. Pressure is being used. Positions are being offered and illegal means being used. The BJP should stay away from this."
But that defiance only appears to be for the television screens. Modi personally has sent out feelers to Vaghela and the two have had a meeting last week. For the moment though, Vaghela claims he cannot be bought over.
It's not that Modi is not aware of the perils of bending backwards in welcoming 'turncoats' into the BJP. It's a move that is bound to anger the loyal BJP grassroots worker. But his personal political ambitions are so huge that poaching is made to appear legitimate for now.
Comments
0 comment