Veteran leader and Guj unit working chief quit Congress

In a major setback for the Congress in Gujarat ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, senior legislator Arjun Modhwadia and party’s state unit working president Ambarish Der resigned from the party on Monday, just three days before party leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is set to enter the western state, and amid speculations that the two leaders would soon join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Both leaders aired their resentment over the party leadership’s decision to not participate in the Ram Temple consecration event, which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on January 2.

Modhwadia (67), who represented Porbandar assembly seat, submitted his resignation as legislator to Gujarat assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary on Monday evening. One of the senior-most opposition leaders in the western state, Modhwadia was associated with the Congress for nearly 40 years and had also served as the leader of the opposition and as the state unit chief. He told the reporters that he has also resigned from all posts in Congress and also as its primary member.

Earlier in the day, former legislator Der (46) also announced that he has resigned from the Congress. Talking to reporters, he said he would join the BJP without any condition.

Modhwadia said though he has been with the Congress since 1982, he was feeling suffocated for quite some time and was unable to do the kind of work for which he had joined the party.

“Despite the widespread desire for the construction of a Ram Temple, even within the Congress, and the subsequent Supreme Court verdict in its favor, the party declined to participate in the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. I expressed my concerns within the party, advocating for a decision that would honour people’s sentiments. Unfortunately, my efforts didn’t result in a fruitful dialogue. Hence, I’ve decided to move forward and explore new avenues in my political journey,” Modhwadia told HT. “I’m hopeful for the future and will seek guidance from all quarters as I embark on this new chapter.”

A senior BJP leader requesting anonymity confirmed that Modhwadia will soon join the saffron party.

With Modhwadia’s resignation, the Congress’s effective strength in the 182-member state assembly has come down to 14. He is also the third legislator of Congress to resign in recent months after Chirag Patel and CJ Chavda quit the party in December last year and January this year, respectively.

Days before the two leaders quit the Congress, Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister Naran Rathwa had also switched over to the BJP along with his son and supporters.

Hours before Der resigned, state Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters that the party’s disciplinary committee had suspended Der from all party posts and as a member of the party for six years over his “anti-party activities” during a meeting on Sunday night. Local TV channels had aired footage of Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil visiting Der’s residence in Ahmedabad on Sunday morning.

Talking to reporters after quitting the party, Der said leaders must understand that a political party should not behave like an NGO.

“When such a grand Ram Temple finally came up and people’s wait of more than 500 years finally came to an end, the Congress leaders’ decision to not visit the temple was not fair. I had raised the issue at that time too... When it did not happen, I took the decision to quit the Congress,” he added.

The timing of these defections, days before former party chief Rahul Gandhi’s yatra delivers a blow to the Congress. The yatra will enter Gujarat at Dahod on March 7 afternoon and cover 400km across seven districts over the next four days.

Reacting to the development, Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said: “Thousands of party workers have toiled tirelessly day and night to secure victory for a leader. Arjunbhai (Modhwadia) should bear this in mind... I also want to ask the BJP that despite their three-decade-long rule in Gujarat, why do they rely on turncoats during elections?”

The BJP has set the target of retaining all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.