In a huge setback to the Gujarat Congress ahead of the Assembly election, its senior tribal leader and three-time legislator Ashwin Kotwal has resigned from the party as well as from the Assembly and to join the BJP.
Mr. Kotwal submitted his resignation as a Legislator to Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya.
After submitting his resignation, he drove to the State BJP headquarters to join the ruling party along with his supporters. He joined in the presence of State BJP chief C.R. Paatil, who inducted Mr. Kotwal and his supporters into the ruling party.
While joining the BJP, Mr. Kotwal praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his leadership. “Even when I was a Congress MLA, PM Modi was in my heart. I was inspired by him,” he told the gathering at the party headquarters.
Mr. Kotwal, a three-time MLA from ST reserved Khedbrahma Assembly seat in north Gujarat. He was earlier chief whip of the Opposition party in the Assembly.
He was not happy with the Congress leadership for “ignoring” him. He was a contender for the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly but the party high command preferred Sukhram Rathwa, another tribal leader from central Gujarat.
With the entry of Mr. Kotwal, the ruling party is hoping to fill the vacuum as it does not have any tribal face in the north Gujarat region.
After 2017 assembly polls, close to 20 MLAs of the opposition party have joined the BJP in the State.
