Opposition Congress in Gujarat on Friday announced to fight by-election of Visavadar and Kadi assembly seats thus putting an end to any kind of speculation over a tie-up with the Aam Aadmi Party.
Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said the decision was taken after the party’s political affairs committee meeting in Ahmedabad. Asked if the party would fight the 2027 assembly elections alone, Gohil said we are talking about the current scenario. We will inform you about 2027 when the time comes, he added.
The party leaders discussed what the cadre wanted. “Navsarjan” of the party was also discussed and it was a unanimous decision to fight on two seats, he added.
The Aaam Aadmi Party has announced Gopal Italia as its candidate for the Visavadar seat. The seat has been vacant since 2023 when Bhupendra Bhayani resigned as the AAP MLA and later joined the BJP. In March, the Gujarat High Court disposed of an election petition filed by BJP leader Harshad Ribadiya challenging Bhayani’s victory from the seat in 2022. The High Court disposed of the petition after Ribadiya, who was defeated by Bhayani in 2022, withdrew the plea.
Kadi seat is vacant after BJP MLA Karsanbhai Solanki died in February, this year.
Isudan Ghadvi, president of the AAP’s Gujarat unit, told media persons after the Congress’ announcement that only the AAP can end the BJP’s three-decade rule in Gujarat. He requested the people of Visavadar not to waste a single vote in the elections and help Italia to win by a margin of 20,000 votes.
The Gujarat Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP emphasised that the coalition is at the national level but when it was up to Gujarat to decide, it has been unanimously decided to contest the elections.
He said in the 2022 assembly elections, the Gujarat unit respected the Central Party’s decision to fight the elections jointly. Though the AAP won 11 percent vote share, the electorate gave more votes to the Congress, he said adding that in Gujarat the third party has not been accepted.
Gohil said the Congress let the AAP contest from Bhavnagar despite the fact that he hails from Bhavnagar. In Bharuch too there was an emotional bond. He was hinting that late Congress leader Ahmed Patel hailed from Bharuch.
Congress Working Committee meeting and session of the All India Congress Committee was held earlier this month. It was followed by party leader Rahul Gandhi’s two-day visit to the state during which he kicked off the party’s “Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan” from Gujarat. The party selected Modasa of Arvalli for the pilot project. Gandhi addressed party workers in Modasa.
The State Election Commission is yet to announce dates for Visavadar and Kadi bypolls.
When Italia was announced candidate for Visavadar, he had hoped that the Congress would not put up a candidate. He said that for the Vav and Visavadar bypoll there was an understanding that the Congress will fight from Vav and the AAP from Visavadar.
In November 2024, Swarupji Thakor of the BJP defeated Gulabsinh Rajput of the Congress in Vav. The seat had fallen vacant after Geniben Thakor, sitting Congress MLA, won the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat.
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