Harshad Ribadia, a two time Congress MLA from Visavadar constituency in Saurashtra region, resigned and is likely to join the ruling BJP in next the few days.
Mr. Ribadia on Tuesday evening met the State Assembly Speaker Dr. Nimaben Acharya and submitted his resignation, which was immediately accepted by her.
According to sources in the BJP, Mr. Ribadia, a prominent Patidar leader who has also served as the chairman of Gujarat Congress farmers wing, will be joining the saffron party in the next few days.
He won Visavadar seat in a by-poll in 2014 and was re-elected from the same seat in 2017.
As per the political buzz in Gandhinagar, a few more Opposition party lawmakers are likely to switch over to the ruling party ahead of the Assembly polls in the State.
Earlier in July this year, a leading tribal leader and three time legislator Ashwin Kotwal had first resigned and then joined the saffron party.
More than 15 Congress MLAs from Congress have defected to the ruling party after the 2017 Assembly polls in which the ruling party had suffered electoral losses in Saurashtra and North Gujarat regions.
The BJP had won only 99 out of 182 seats, its lowest tally in the State since 1995. However, thanks to defections from the Opposition camp, the ruling party’s strength in the Assembly improved substantially to 112 in the House.
