Bharuch BJP MP Mansukh Vasava has publicly criticised sections of his own party organisation, alleging that some BJP leaders and workers helped Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Chaitar Vasava win the Dediapada Assembly seat.
Speaking at a BJP organisational programme in Rajpipla, held to welcome newly appointed Narmada district BJP president Shabdsharan Tadvi, Vasava also questioned the conduct of party workers who, according to him, continued to maintain links with opposition parties.
Vasava said that remaining in the BJP while assisting the Congress or AAP could not be accepted. He reportedly told party workers that those who did not agree with the party line were free to leave, while cautioning workers against maintaining political ties with AAP leaders.
‘Our own people helped Chaitar Vasava win’
One of the strongest remarks attributed to Vasava concerned the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election.
Referring to Chaitar Vasava’s victory from Dediapada, the BJP MP alleged that people within the BJP had helped the AAP leader win the constituency.
The allegation comes against the backdrop of a long-running political contest between the two tribal leaders. Chaitar Vasava won the Dediapada (ST) Assembly seat in 2022 with 103,433 votes, defeating BJP’s Hitesh Vasava, who polled 63,151 votes. The victory margin was 40,282 votes.
Mansukh Vasava had also previously made similar allegations. In November 2023, he publicly accused some BJP leaders and workers in Narmada of working against the party and supporting Chaitar Vasava during the 2022 Assembly election.
The rivalry continued into the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when Mansukh Vasava and Chaitar Vasava faced each other in the Bharuch constituency. Mansukh Vasava won the seat, but his victory margin fell to 85,696 votes, compared with his 3.34-lakh margin in 2019.
Questions over BJP workers’ conduct
Vasava also criticised BJP workers for allegedly participating in or supporting programmes associated with opposition parties.
He referred to an incident in which, according to his remarks, BJP functionaries had welcomed an AAP procession when it passed through the area. He questioned how party workers could simultaneously remain associated with the BJP while assisting its political opponents.
His remarks came amid continuing organisational tensions within the Narmada BJP.
Allegation involving payments to a talati
Vasava also raised allegations concerning local administration and corruption.
According to the report of his speech, he claimed that he had information about a BJP office-bearer allegedly paying a “hafta” to a talati. He did not publicly name the person he was referring to.
He linked such alleged payments and commissions with poor-quality development work in rural areas and municipalities.
These are allegations made by Vasava and have not been established as facts. The available report does not indicate that a specific person was named or that an official investigation had established the allegation.
Concerns over quality of civic works
Vasava further questioned the quality of development work being carried out in rural areas and municipalities.
He argued that when substandard work is carried out, it gives opposition parties an opportunity to attack the government and turn local administrative issues into political issues.
He therefore stressed that even when government contracts or works are undertaken by people associated with the BJP, quality standards must not be compromised.
Why the remarks matter in Narmada
The comments come at a time of renewed organisational discussion within the Narmada BJP.
The BJP recently appointed former MLA and former minister Shabdsharan Tadvi as the new Narmada district president, replacing Neil Rao. Recent reporting has linked the organisational changes to internal disagreements and the BJP’s electoral setbacks in the tribal belt.
The political backdrop is particularly significant because AAP performed strongly in the 2026 local-body elections in Narmada. The Indian Express reported that AAP swept the Narmada district panchayat and also won four taluka panchayats in the district.
That result followed Chaitar Vasava’s continued political prominence in the tribal belt. His 2022 Dediapada victory had already established AAP as a significant challenger to the BJP in the region.
A long-running Vasava vs Vasava political contest
The political relationship between Mansukh Vasava and Chaitar Vasava has been contentious for several years. The two faced each other directly in the 2024 Bharuch Lok Sabha election, with Mansukh Vasava winning but Chaitar Vasava significantly reducing the BJP’s previous winning margin.
The two leaders have also publicly clashed on several occasions. In May 2024, they were involved in a heated exchange at the Dediapada taluka panchayat office following the Lok Sabha election.
Against this background, Vasava’s latest comments are not an isolated criticism of the opposition but also a public airing of concerns about BJP’s own organisation, party discipline and local functioning in Narmada.
Who are Mansukh Vasava and Chaitar Vasava?
Mansukh Vasava is a senior BJP leader and the seven-time MP from Bharuch. He has represented the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency since the late 1990s and remains one of the BJP’s prominent tribal leaders in South Gujarat. His constituency includes the Dediapada (ST) Assembly segment, where AAP’s Chaitar Vasava emerged as a major political challenger.
Chaitar Vasava is an AAP tribal leader from Dediapada in Narmada district. He entered electoral politics through the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) and later joined AAP before the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election. He won Dediapada in 2022 and became one of AAP’s prominent faces in Gujarat’s tribal belt.
The political rivalry between the two became particularly visible during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, when Chaitar Vasava contested the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat against Mansukh Vasava. Mansukh Vasava won the election with 608,157 votes, while Chaitar Vasava received 522,461 votes, resulting in a margin of 85,696 votes.
Also Read: Questions May Be About Gyanesh, But The Question Mark Is On Modi’s Democratic Legitimacy
