In a rare incident, two candidates declared by the BJP High Command have been forced to withdraw their candidature for the forthcoming Loksabha polls after intense rebellion by party leaders and workers. Vadodara’s sitting MP Ranjanben Bhatt and Sabarkantha’s Bhikhaji Thakor have announced their withdrawal for “personal reasons”. However, BJP sources confirm that these candidates were asked to quit the poll battle following numerous representations against them and brewing rebellion. Sources also claimed that BJP is facing a similar rebellion in Anand, Banaskantha and Valsad seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) sitting MP, Ranjan Bhatt, who was fielded by the party to contest for the third time from the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, announced her decision to withdraw her candidacy for the upcoming elections on Saturday morning. Soon, Bhikaji Thakor, a co-operative sector leader who was set to make his Loksabha debut followed suit. Thakor faces a controversy of changing his surname from Damor to Thakor to get more Thakor votes, which are more than Damor votes in Sabarkantha. After his surname change fraud was exposed by longtime BJP workers, the party took notice of the rebellion. due to personal reasons. This announcement was confirmed by a BJP official, who wished to remain anonymous. Ranjan Bhatt who first became an MP in 2014 has been accused of not being accessible and not doing enough for Vadodara. She has been alleged of sheltering criminals, bootleggers and drunken driving in her constituency. Several posters were put up in her constituency which read “Modi se Bair Nahi, Ranjan teri Khair Nahi”(Modi, no enmity with you but Ranjan you will not be spared)
Similarly, Bhikhaji Thakor, the BJP candidate for the Sabarkantha seat, expressed his reluctance to contest the election. Thakor made his intentions clear in a Facebook post, stating his unwillingness to contest the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha 2024 election due to personal reasons.
Rajan Bhatt’s decision comes immediately after a poster campaign erupted over her Vadodara nomination. The posters suggested a lack of interest from Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Gujarat BJP Chief C R Patil towards the city. One of the posters read, “Modi tere se ver nahin, Ranjan teri kher nahi” (Modi, we don’t have any differences with you, but Ranjan, all will not be well with you/we will fight you ). The first visible signs of Ranjan Bhatt’s candidature not going down well came up when Jyoti Pandya, an active Mahila Morcha leader tendered her resignation openly coming out against Bhatt. Pandya, a well known professor said it was humiliating that BJP gave tickets to such non performers just because of their influence and clout. This was followed by Vadodara districts’ sitting MLA from Savli Ketan Inamdar tendering his resignation. He however withdrew it within hours after a meeting with senior party leaders in Gandhinagar.
Former mayor Dr. Jyotiben Pandya publicly expressed her displeasure after she was not given a ticket. She accused MP Ranjanben Bhatt of corruption, causing a stir within the party. Despite her immediate suspension from the BJP, the resentment within the party did not subside. Many office bearers expressed their discontent, leading to discussions about changing the candidate for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat.
The internal anger within the Vadodara BJP intensified after Bhatt was nominated again for the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat. Sawli MLA Ketan Inamdar sent a resignation letter to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly via email.
On March 14, the BJP suspended Dr. Jyotiben Pandya, the vice president of its national women’s wing, from all positions within the party. Before her suspension, Dr. Jyothiben Pandya congratulated Ranjanben on her nomination. However, the following morning, she contacted State Organisation General Minister Ratnakar and State BJP President CR Patil to express her displeasure at not being made a candidate despite her qualifications. After stating her intention to quit the party, she was suspended from all posts and primary membership. State Media Convener Dr. Yagnesh Dave announced her suspension with immediate effect on the instructions of the State President.
Bhatt first secured the Vadodara seat in 2014 during a by-election following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to represent Varanasi as an MP. She successfully retained the seat in the 2019 election.
The BJP won all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in 2014 and 2019 elections. The party has announced 22 candidates so far for the upcoming 2024 elections. The Congress has announced 17 candidates in Gujarat.
They are:
- Nitish Lalan- Kutch (SC)
- Geniben Thakor- Banaskantha
- Chandanji Thakor- Patan
- Tushar Chaudhary- Sabarkantha
- Sonal Patel- Gandhinagar
- Bharat Makwana- Ahmedabad West (SC)
- Lalit Vasoya-Porbandar
- J.P. Moraviya- Jamnagar
- Jenny Thummar- Amreli
- Amit Chavda- Anand
- Kalusinh Dabhi- Kheda
- Gubalsinh Chauhan- Panchmahal
- Dr. Prabha Taviyad- Dahod (ST)
- Sukhram Rathwa- Chhota Udepur (ST)
- Siddharth Chaudhary- Bardoli (ST)
- Nilesh Kumbhani- Surat
- Anant Patel- Valsad (ST)
Meanwhile, Rohan Gupta, the national spokesperson and former social media head of Congress, resigned from the party on March 18, 2024, citing constant humiliation and character assassination by a senior leader, three days after he withdrew his candidature for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. In June 2022, Rohan had been removed as head of the Congress’s social media team two years ago after his family’s association with a firm promoted by a confidant of Union Home Minister Amit Shah became public. The controversy involved the revelation that his wife Yogita and brother Arpan were partners in Sunbirds Infrabuild, a firm whose promoter was Amit Shah’s confidant Ajay Patel, chairman of the Gujarat State Cooperative Bank and Ahmedabad District Cooperative Bank. It is alleged that Congress was never his priority and he is now playing the victim when he withdrew from the Loksabha polls as the candidate from Ahmedabad just because his business deals and settings would have been disturbed if he contested.
Meanwhile, BJP sources say a similar rebellion is brewing in Banaskantha, Valsad and Anand. The BJP has declared 22 candidates.
They are:
1. Vinod Chavda- Kutch (SC)
2. Rekhaben Chaudhary- Banaskantha
3. Bharatsinh Dabhi- Patan
4. Bhikaji Thakor- Sabarkantha
5. Amit Shah- Gandhinagar
6. Hasmukh Patel- Ahmedabad East
7. Dinesh Makwana- Ahmedabad West (SC)
8. Purshottam Rupala- Rajkot
9. Masukh Mandavaiya- Porbandar
10. Poonam Maadam- Jamnagar
11. Nimuben Bambhaniya- Bhavnagar
12. Mitesh Patel- Anand
13. Devusinh Chauhan- Kheda
14. Rajpalsinh Jadhav- Panchmahal
15. Jasvantsinh Bhabhor- Dahod (ST)
16. Rajanben Bhatt- Vadodara
17. Jashubhai Rathwa- Chhota Udepur (ST)
18. Mansukh Vasava- Bharuch
19. Prabhubhai Vasava- Bardoli (ST)
20. Mukesh Dalal- Surat
21. C.R. Paatil- Navsari
22. Dhaval Patel- Valsad (ST)
However, it must be noted that this does not mean that BJP was likely to face defeats on these seats. As a Congress leader explained to Vibes of India, at the moment it means that there would be some fight on these seats. However, considering how strong the BJP is when it comes to organisational structure and money power, it appears unlikely as of now if the Party would lose any of these seats.
Also Read: Air India Fined Rs 80 Lakh by DGCA for Breaching Flight Duty Time Regulations
