Gujarat: Congress' Rajya Sabha MP joins BJP ahead of Lok Sabha polls
The tribal leader from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat, Rathwa's tenure as a Rajya Sabha member will end in April; he was elected to the Lok Sabha five times
In a blow to the Congress in Gujarat ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, its Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister Naran Rathwa on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his son and a large number of supporters in Gandhinagar.
The tribal leader from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat, Rathwa's tenure as a Rajya Sabha member will end in April. He was elected to the Lok Sabha five times -- in 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998 and 2004.
Son too
Rathwa's son Sangramsinh had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Gujarat Assembly elections as a Congress candidate from Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved Chhota Udepur seat. He joined the BJP with his father and a large number of supporters at a function.
Patil welcomes
Rathwa was the Minister of State for Railways in the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004, and lost to BJP’s Ramsinh Rathwa in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil inducted Rathwa and others into the party by offering them saffron scarves and caps at the party's state headquarters 'Kamalam' here.
(With agency inputs)