After Jawahar Chavda, Gujarat Congress MLA Purushottam Sawariya joins BJP

In what could be another big blow to the Congress ahead of the ensuing Lok Sabha Elections 2019, Purushottam Sawariya, the party MLA from Gujarat, has been inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sawariya joined the Saffron party in presence of its senior leaders IK Jadeja and KC Patel. The development came days after Sawariya along with another Congress MLA - Jawahar Chavda - quit the party, bringing down its Assembly strength to 72. On March 8, Chavda too joined the BJP hours after resigning as a Congress MLA in Gujarat.

"Gandhinagar: Congress MLA from Gujarat, Purushottam Sawariya who had resigned from the party last week, joins BJP," the news agency ANI reported.

Gandhinagar: Congress MLA from Gujarat, Purushottam Sawariya who had resigned from the party last week, joins BJP. pic.twitter.com/4PaYB21hK9

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

Industrialist Sawariya was elected to the house for the first time in 2017 from Dhrangadhra constituency. The former Congress MLA, who was jailed for 4 months in connection with a corruption case, claimed that he quit the Congress in order to be part of the developmental process. It seems like the BJP aims to sweep votes from Koli community in Sourashtra as Sawariya is well known among these communities.

Sawariya and Chavda have become the latest adition to the list of poached leaders from the Congress. The internal feud in Gujarat Congress led several top leaders to join the ruling BJP ahead of March 12's crucial Working Committee meeting. Sawariya is the third Congress MLA to have resigned from the House in the past few months.

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In July last year, senior Congress MLA Kunwarjibhai Mohanbhai Bavaliya had resigned as the legislator. He was later made a cabinet minister in the current BJP dispensation. Last month, first-time MLA from Unjha seat in Mehsana, Asha Patel, had resigned from the House and the Congress, and later joined the ruling BJP.

The development assumes significance as speculations have been rife that Gujarat Congress MLA Alpesh Thakore is likely to join the BJP. However, the OBC leader and Congress legislator from Radhanpur in north Gujarat, denied such rumours, adding that he is not keen to contest the Lok Sabha elections and will continue to fight for the rights of his Thakore community.

Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad, Thakore said, "I am very clear that I have to fight for my people. So, I will stay with Congress and will continue to support the party. I want respect and rights for my people".

"Everyone wants to hold the position of a minister. At one point, I did aspire to becoming a minister to be able to serve my community better, but I have now decided to take the path of struggle," he stated being asked about the reports of him joining the Congress.