Months Before Lok Sabha Elections, Gujarat Faces Surge In MLA Resignations

In the lead-up to the eagerly anticipated Lok Sabha elections, Gujarat is undergoing a wave of MLA resignations. Following resignations from Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Independent legislator Dharmendrasinh Vaghela has also declared his resignation. Vaghela, who represented the Vaghodia assembly constituency in Vadodara district, submitted his resignation to assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary in Gandhinagar on Thursday.

After formally resigning, Vaghela expressed that his decision is aimed at bolstering the efforts of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah in establishing 'Ram Rajya' in the country. He clarified that neither the party made any promises, such as ministerial positions in the Gujarat government or renomination, nor did he put forth any specific demands during his decision-making process, as conveyed to reporters.

Having previously been affiliated with the BJP, Vaghela contested the 2017 elections as an Independent after not receiving a ticket from the party. Despite facing defeat, he rejoined the BJP shortly thereafter. In a similar situation in 2022, he contested as an Independent and defeated the six-term MLA, Madhu Srivastava.

Although Vaghela has resigned as an independent MLA, there are speculations about his potential candidacy in the assembly by-election from the same seat during the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. However, he has not publicly clarified this stance yet.

Vaghela, belonging to the Kshatriya community, becomes the third MLA in Gujarat to resign from the state assembly in the past two months. Earlier resignations include AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani from the Visavadar seat in December 2023 and Congress MLA CJ Chavda from the Vijapur seat. The 2022 Gujarat assembly elections saw the BJP securing an unexpected victory with 156 seats, while the Aam Aadmi Party and Congress won five and 17 seats, respectively. Three Independent candidates, who contested due to not receiving BJP tickets, also secured victories.

With Vaghela's resignation, the current assembly composition comprises 156 BJP MLAs, 15 Congress MLAs, four Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, and two independent MLAs. The BJP expresses optimism about winning all four seats in the anticipated by-elections, coinciding with the Lok Sabha elections. There are also speculations that more Congress MLAs may join the BJP in the coming days.