The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has expelled Vashram Sagathiya, the Vice-President of AAP’s Gujarat state unit, a day after he attended an official event of Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil assuming charge as the head of the Congress party in Gujarat.
Sagathiya, who had joined AAP ahead of the Assembly election last year after leaving Congress, claims that he had already resigned from the party two days ago and suggests a possible return to the Congress.
In a letter addressed to Sagathiya, AAP’s organisational secretary for Gujarat, Manoj Sorathiya, cited anti-party activities as the reason for the expulsion. The letter, shared by AAP’s media wing, states that complaints were received against Sagathiya for working against the party and after conducting an inquiry, it was found that the complaints were true, leading to his removal from all party positions and revocation of membership.
Sagathiya, a prominent Dalit face of AAP, had contested the Assembly election from the Rajkot Rural seat as an AAP candidate in December. Although he secured 71,201 votes, he lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Bhanu Babariya, who received 1.19 lakh votes. The Congress candidate, Suresh Bathwar, garnered only 29,175 votes and came in third place.
Previously, Sagathiya had contested the same seat in 2017 as a Congress candidate, narrowly losing to Lakhabhai Sagathiya of the BJP, with a difference of just a few thousand votes.
The expulsion of Vashram Sagathiya marks a significant development within AAP’s Gujarat state unit, raising questions about internal party dynamics and potential realignments in the political landscape of the state.
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