As Union home minister and national BJP president Amit Shah would begin his two-day visit to Gujarat from Wednesday, speculations are rife that former Congress MLA and Thakore leader Alpesh Thakore might join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Shah's visit assumes significance as elections for two Rajya Sabha seats will be held on July 5. The BJP has fielded External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and OBC leader Jugal Thakore for the seats. The opposition Congress has fielded women's wing leader Chandrika Chudasama and Gaurav Pandya, a close aide of senior party leader Ahmed Patel.
Given the strength of the BJP in the 182-seat assembly and the fact that there will be separate polls for both the seats, the ruling party is expected to win both seats with a comfortable margin.
The Supreme Court had rejected the Congress' objection to the Election Commission's move of holding separate elections for both the seats.
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Meanwhile, speculations are rife about whether Thakore would join the BJP or not. Ever since he had resigned from the Congress before Lok Sabha elections, alleging partisan treatment to him and his community, there have been rumours that he might join the BJP.
However, there is no official confirmation from the BJP yet.
The ruling party is comfortably placed at the moment and it does not require Congress MLAs or even Thakore to join them. However, it can well use the opportunity to signal that the Congress has failed to remain united.
Recently in the Gujarat High Court, Alpesh had submitted an affidavit saying that he had only resigned from the posts of the Congress and not from the primary membership.
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi told THE WEEK that the party would ask Thakore to abide by the whip to vote for Congress candidates, citing his affidavit in the High Court.
Shah will take part in various programmes, including inauguration of a bridge in Ahmedabad. He will also address party workers. On July 4, before leaving for New Delhi, he will perform “mangla aarti” at the Jagannath Temple on the occasion of Rath Yatra.