Losing Modhwadia, Der to BJP leaves Gujarat Congress red-faced

The Congress, which has been losing its leaders in Gujarat to the BJP at a steady pace, has just faced another setback.

Arjun Modhwadia, former chief of Gujarat Congress, and his protégé Ambrish Der, an MLA from Rajula constituency, announced on Monday that they were quitting the party. Sources say Shankar Chaudhary, the Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, flew down to Gandhinagar from Tharad in Banaskantha, leaving a programme mid-way, to accept Modhwadia’s resignation on Monday.

On Tuesday (March 6), Modhwadia and Der joined the BJP, delivering a severe blow to the Grand Old Party that is already reeling from desertions ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. The duo joined the BJP in a formal ceremony at ‘Shree Kamalam’, Gujarat’s BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar. 

Embarrassment for Congress

The resignations are hugely embarrassing for the Congress, coming as they did just days ahead of the Gujarat leg of the Rahul Gandhi-led BharatJodo Nyay Yatra.

The resignation of Modhwadia, an MLA from the Porbandar seat, came as a shock to many local leaders as he had been deeply involved in planning the Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra event until a day before his resignation.

“Arjun Modhwadia bhai was active in organising Nyay Yatra in Dahod until Sunday evening. Other senior leaders had refused to accept any possibility of him resigning until he actually put in his papers,” Gujarat Congress leader and MP Shaktisinh Gohil told the media in Ahmedabad on Monday morning.

The Congress has lost several leaders in recent months, but Modhwadia's departure is seen as a more substantial loss. He was considered a close aide of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel and a key figure in the state’s political landscape.

What prompted Cong loyalist to abandon ship

Modhwadia, a senior leader from the Mer community of coastal Saurashtra, had been associated with the Congress for the last 40 years since his student days. He rose in rank within the party through the years and was the Leader of the Opposition when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He was also Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee chief until he resigned in 2012.

A mechanical engineer by qualification, Modhwadia joined the Congress in 1993. He won his first election in 2002, becoming an MLA from Porbandar. He was re-elected in 2007. He lost the 2012 and 2017 elections but in 2022, was re-elected for a third term. He has been one of the loyal Congress leaders who stood by the party in the most challenging of times.

With Modhwadia’s exit, the Congress doesn’t have a Mer leader to represent the party in Porbandar and adjoining coastal districts anymore. Mers are a pastoral community who form the majority of the population in coastal Saurashtra after Ahirs, both of whom are considered OBCs.

OBC vote bank to take a hit

The resignation of Ambarish Der, an Ahir leader and a close aide of Modhwadia, is set to upset the Congress’ OBC vote bank. Der is known to be an aggressive ground leader and enjoys significant support in the coastal district of Amreli, especially amongst the Ahir community.

With Amerili district dominated by Patels and Ahirs, the Congress banked on Der from the Ahir community and Paresh Dhanani from the Patidhar community, for votes. However, while Dhanani lost the last election and has not been politically active since then, Der’s exit has left Congress with no strong representation in the district.

“Modhwadia and Der’s resignations come as an embarrassment for the Congress, which is bleeding out leaders. The party is unable to figure out why their heavyweights are abandoning ship one by one. Even after the resignation of the two MLAs, the Gujarat Congress played it down calling it a conspiracy by the BJP. What it needs is serious introspection,” Gauraang Jani, an Ahmedabad-based sociologist, told The Federal.

The trigger: Ram temple event

Interestingly, in January, Modhwadia openly voiced his disagreement with the party for turning down the invitation to the Ram Temple consecration ceremony.

Now, both Modhwadia and Der havecited the Congress leadership’s decision to not attend the inauguration of Ayodhya’s Ram temple as their primary reason to quit the party.

“The Congress should operate more like a political party rather than an NGO. Many of us have been disappointed for a long time yet not been heard,” said Der after quitting.

BJP prepares for polls, Cong struggles to stay afloat

“The BJP went into preparation mode for the Lok Sabha polls just after its massive win in 2022 assembly polls. Their cadres cut short their celebration and went back to work. Over the past few months, the BJP has been holding several meetings helmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and opening central offices for all Lok Sabha seats. But, we (the Congress) are busy wracking our brains and trying to keep the flock together and ensuring that there is no infighting while the poll campaign is underway,” a disheartened Congress leader told The Federal requesting anonymity.

With the twin resignations, the strength of the main opposition Congress party has reduced to 14 from 17 in the Gujarat assembly. Congress’s other MLAs who resigned in recent weeks include CJ Chavda from the Vijapur seat and Chirag Patel from the Khambhat seat.