VADODARA: Tensions within the Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are escalating as the Lok Sabha elections approach, fuelled by the influx of Congress leaders into the party and internal divisions among local leadership. Adding to the turmoil, Ketan Inamdar, a three-term BJP MLA from Gujarat, announced his resignation from the state assembly on Tuesday, citing his "inner conscience" as the driving force behind his decision, emphasizing the importance of preserving self-respect amidst perceived inaction. Nevertheless, following persuasion from the state president, the resignation was retracted within a matter of hours.
Inamdar also had said his move was not a pressure tactic and that he will work to ensure the victory of BJP candidate Ranjan Bhatt from Vadodara seat in the upcoming parliamentary polls.
Frustrated by the continuous influx of Congress leaders and other party members into the BJP, the three-term MLA from Savli seat in Vadodara district had submitted his resignation to legislative assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary on March 19.
Following this, efforts were made to persuade him to reconsider his decision. The MLA from Jamnagar, along with the Vadodara district in-charge, visited Savli for discussions.
Subsequently, Ketan Inamdar received a summons to Gandhinagar and attended a meeting with BJP state president CR Patil. Following their discussion, he opted to retract his resignation.
Earlier also, he had announced his resignation as an MLA in January 2020, but it was not accepted by the speaker.
Following his meeting with the BJP state President in Gandhinagar, Inamdar expressed to the media, "I shared my grievances and concerns with State President Patil. I engaged in introspection and spoke from the depths of my heart. Our dialogue took place in a constructive environment. It was crucial to honor the dedication of longstanding party workers. Each individual has a unique approach to work. There's no personal animosity towards anyone."
Earlier in the body, while talking to reporters after tendering his resignation on Tuesday, Inamdar had said it was not a pressure tactic. "For a long time, I felt that small and old workers (associated with the party since long) have not been taken care of by the party. I have apprised the leadership of this," the BJP leader had said.
Inamdar said he represented the Savli seat for more than 11 years and ever since he became an active member of the BJP, he has remained associated with the party.
"But like I had said in 2020, there is nothing bigger than self-respect. And this is not the voice of Ketan Inamdar alone but of every single party worker. I have said earlier that old party workers should not be ignored," he had said.
"I remain committed to tirelessly supporting our Lok Sabha candidate, Ranjan Bhatt, ensuring their victory by a significant margin. However, my decision to resign is the result of “my inner voice,” he had concluded.
After Inamdar resigned in 2020, he had claimed senior government officials and ministers were ignoring him and his constituency and that many MLAs in the saffron party were feeling "frustrated" like him.
He first won the 2012 assembly election as an independent candidate.
He later joined the BJP and won twice in the 2017 and 2022 polls.
The BJP currently has 156 out of the total 182 seats in the Gujarat assembly.
Polling for all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held in a single phase on May 7 and votes will be counted on June 4.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
