Gujarat BJP infighting continues beyond polls; leaders face ‘sabotage’ charges

Discord within the Gujarat BJP refuses to die down even after the state voted for the Lok Sabha polls and Assembly by-elections for five seats on May 7.

In Saurashtra region, three prominent BJP leaders have been accused of anti-party activities and sabotaging the prospects of its candidates.

BJP discontent

Naran Kachhadia, the outgoing MP from Amreli, and former ministers Dharmendrasinh Jadeja and Javahar Chavda from Porbandar have been accused of damaging the winning chances of the party candidates.

The state leadership has requested its central leaders to axe their membership.

Grouse against MP

Arvind Ladani, a former Congress member who had joined the BJP in 2023, wrote to party president CR Patil alleging anti-party activities by former minister Chavda and his family during the Manavadar by-election in Junagadh.

“Raj Chavda, son of the former MLA and ex-minister Jawahar Chavda, convened a meeting of 800-1,000 BJP workers at his factory in Manavadar on May 4 and urged them to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate to avenge his father’s defeat in 2022,” alleged Ladani, who was the BJP candidate from Manavadar for the by-election necessitated by his switching sides.

Amreli saga

Chavda had lost to Ladani in the 2022 Assembly elections. The latter was a Congress candidate then. The senior Chavda refused to comment on the matter.

In a similar incident in Amreli, a spat between BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate Bharat Sutariya and outgoing MP Naran Kachhadia came to the surface, with Sutariya accusing Kachhadia of sabotaging his electoral chances.

Weak candidate?

Kachhadia accused Sutariya of being a “weak candidate” and attributed the poor voter turnout in the constituency to his nomination by the party.

Less than a week after voting, Kachhadia addressed party workers at Savarkundla town in Amreli district where he expressed his displeasure about losing the candidature.

Poor turnout

“The Opposition had nothing, be it workers, leaders, network or power. Still, we struggled against them despite being in power and having an army of workers,” he said.

“There must be a reason behind it. This time, Amreli recorded about 1.5 lakh fewer votes than 2019. It is owing to the lack of enthusiasm among party workers and voters,” Kachhadia said.

Accusing fingers

The video of the speech was widely circulated in Gujarat on social media, drawing reactions from party leaders as well as Sutariya.

“Of course, I am thankful to the party for nominating me three times from the seat. But the party betrayed 17.5 lakh voters of Amreli with the selection of its candidate this time. There were many eligible leaders who could have been given the ticket. Instead, the party selected a common person who can’t even speak properly or give an interview. The local unit members of the party were never happy with the decision of the party,” said Kachhadia.

Hitting back

The BJP this time dropped Kachhadia, a three-time MP from Amreli, and nominated Sutariya, president of the Amreli district panchayat. Kachhadia had won from Amreli in 2009, 2014 and 2019. In 2019, he defeated Congress candidate Paresh Dhanani by about 2 lakh votes.

Sutariya hit back. “Lok Sabha candidates are selected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, party president JP Nadda, and the BJP’s parliamentary board. He is an MP of the party; yet he is insulting the BJP’s leadership and its parliamentary board by questioning my selection,” said Sutariya, adding that he had conveyed the message to Kachhadia as well.

BJP worried

Gujarat recorded an average voter turnout of 60.13 per cent on May 7 as it voted for 25 of its 26 Lok Sabha seats (one has gone to BJP uncontested). Apart from Banaskantha, all constituencies recorded fewer votes than in 2019.

Amreli’s voter turnout was only 50.29 per cent. The general lower balloting is worrying BJP leaders.

Action to follow

A BJP leader from Gandhinagar said on condition of anonymity: “The party’s strategy was to get more than 40-50 per cent voter turnout in the 25 seats. That way, we can be sure of a win, as a higher turnout goes in favour of the BJP in Gujarat.

“But the target was not achieved in some seats. This has made us anxious because our target was not just to win. We were tasked with winning by a margin of 5 lakh votes," he added.

“The party leadership takes these lapses very seriously. We have been told action will be taken against anybody who did not do their part during the campaign,” the leader said.