AHMEDABAD: Appointment of Congress turncoats as ministers in Gujarat is likely to stoke dissension in the BJP, according to some ruling party leaders. Before the Lok Sabha elections, four Gujarat Congress MLAs and an independent resigned from the assembly and joined the BJP.
The defectors won the by-elections to five assembly seats and were sworn in on Tuesday, raising the BJP’s strength in the 182-member House to 161.
“If the leaders who defected from the Congress to the BJP are appointed as ministers in the Gujarat government, the BJP may face internal opposition,” a ruling party leader said, wishing not to be named.
The BJP nominated the defectors for the bypolls which they won. Following their bypoll victories, there is a growing speculation that Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel may expand his ministry. “A buzz is doing the rounds in the party if the newly inducted BJP members will be included into the ministry. Questions are being raised about the fate of senior BJP leaders who have been waiting for ministerial positions for years,” the party leader quoted above said.
BJP leaders had earlier protested against merger of Congress leaders into the party.
Three-term BJP MLA from Savli had submitted his resignation to Speaker Shankar Chaudhary on March 19. He later withdrew his resignation after being persuaded by the state BJP chief. “If long-awaiting senior BJP MLAs are overlooked for ministerial posts in favour of the new members, it could reignite internal opposition within the Gujarat BJP,” another BJP leader said.
