Smart poll move: Gandhinagar mayor defects to BJP
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- Current News
- Wednesday, 31 October 2012 20:21
- Published on Wednesday, 31 October 2012 20:21
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Gujarat Global News Network, Ahmedabad
Mayor of the smallest and latest Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation joined BJP along with two other Congress councilors giving thin majority to BJP in the 33 member civic body. The move has created an interesting situation.
Though the BJP has gained numerical superiority, it cannot sustain the test of legal validity in view of the existing anti-defection laws. Congress had 18 members while BJP 15 before the defection of the mayor Mahendrasinh Rana and others. Now the situation is reversed in terms of numbers.
BJP spokesperson I K Jadeja, in reply to a query, said that Rana would remain Mayoreven after joining BJP. But Congress contests this. Congress spokesperson Dr. Manish Doshi said that all the three would be suspended from the party and action would be initiated against them under the anti defection law.
Legally, this change is of no advantage to BJP for more than one reason. First, the number of three councilors does not qualify for valid defection by any means. Members of a national party cannot defect unless there is vertical split of the party at national level, says Hradya Buch, High Court advocate and spokesperson of Congress.
In the present situation, deputy mayor will assume the office of the mayor and deputy mayor is also of Congress. Since, Gujarat is going for Assembly polls in December, any exercise for election of new mayor cannot be conducted. The two other councilors are Karansinh Chavda and Jitendrasinh Chavda.
It seems that entire exercise is to create pro BJP wave in the capital city and area around it in the wake of Assembly polls.The two councilors are quite influential in the area and BJP would exploit this fact fully in the coming elections. BJP had poor performance in elections in the last 18 months. First, it lost to Congress in the in the first ever elections of Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation. It lost Visnagar Assembly by-elections also.
In view of this situation in Gandhinagar district, the shifting of two councilors to BJP is likely to help the party mobilize ground support. Karansinh Manubha Chavda is former general secretary of Gujarat Congress for two terms. He was also with Youth Congress. He is General Secretary of Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha. He was one of the organizers of Kshatriya sammelan at Patan in north Gujarat.
Jitendrasinh Bapusinh Chavda an industrialist is vice president of Gandhinagar district Congress.
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