As the Lok Sabha elections 2024 close in and the names are announced for the constituencies, the internal dissent in the state’s BJP has come to a boiling point.

Ranjan Bhatt woes in Vadodara

From Vadodara, the party fielded incumbent MP (Member of Parliament) Ranjan Bhatt for the third time. This was followed by furore where posters against her candidature in parts of the city Mar 20, saying ‘Modi se bair nahi, Ranjan teri khair nahi’ (there is no hatred towards PM Modi but will not spare Ranjan). The police even detained people based on the CCTV footage.

Sabarkantha BJP’s surname switch?

In the Sabarkantha seat, the BJP high command announced Bhikhaji Thakor as a new face, making way with the current MP Dipsinh Rathod.

As soon as Thakor’s name was nominated, there was a controversy over his surname. BJP dissidents reportedly fueled this controversy, circulated WhatsApp chats claiming that Bhikhaji is not Thakor, but a Damor, indicating that the party fielded a tribal candidate.

Thakor dismissed the claims, saying that there are 50,000 native Thakors in Sabarkantha, and some of them are called Damor.

Son in BJP, father forms new party

There is a rift between Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) supremo Chhotu Vasava and his son Mahesh Vasava. Just a few days ago, Mahesh joined the BJP.

Reacting to his son Mahesh joining the BJP, Chhotu Vasava formed a new party called Bharatiya Adivasi Sena.

In the past, Chhotu Vasava allied with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM).

This is likely to lead to a situation where the father-son duo contest each other on the Bharuch seat. However, many believe this to be a BJP ploy to defeat Chaitar Vasava of AAP, a former aide of Chhotu Vasava.

Rolling back the resignation

On Mar 19, Savli’s BJP MLA Ketan Inamdar resigned from his post, bringing the dissent against the party to the fore. 

Many believed the reason behind the resignation to be the BJP recruitment drive where several leaders from the other parties joined the ruling party.

However, after a meeting in Gandhinagar with the state president CR Patil, Inamdar pulled back his resignation.

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Savli MLA Inamdar takes a U-turn, pulls back resignation