Sanghavi’s Dediapada visit: AAP’s Praful Vasava, Cong leader Raj Vasava join BJP along with 700 supporters in Gujarat’s tribal belt

Sanghavi, along with Bharuch BJP Lok Sabha MP Mansukh Vasava, Tribal Affairs Minister Naresh Patel, BJP general secretary Prashant Korat, Narmada district BJP president Neel Rao and president of BJP state Tribal Morcha Ganpat Vasava, welcomed the tribal leaders into the party, putting a party scarf around their neck.

Both Praful Vasava and Raj Vasava of the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) had joined the Congress after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

While Raj Vasava, an alumnus of United College in London, had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from the Chhota Udepur constituency on a BTP ticket through a crowdfunding programme, Praful Vasava had contested the 2017 Gujarat Assembly Polls from Waghodia Assembly constituency as a BTP candidate and the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls from the Nandod Assembly constituency as an AAP candidate.

BJP’s plan

The inclusion of Praful Vasava and Raj Vasava into the BJP is expected to “boost the party’s ground strength” in the tribal areas ahead of the 2027 Assembly polls, as it aims to further cement its hold in the region, especially the Dediapada Assembly constituency, which has eluded the BJP since the 2017 Assembly polls. The party had, however, emerged as a winner in the tribal belt of Gujarat in 2022, bagging 23 of the 27 seats, defeating the Congress in 14 of the 17 tribal seats it had won in 2017, in alliance with the BTP.

A senior BJP leader said, “The event at Dediapada was held in order to welcome the leaders into the party as well as to thank the tribal community at large for its constant faith in the BJP… The two leaders have a lot of influence in Narmada, Chhota Udepur and Bharuch districts, where Chaitar Vasava has become a force to reckon with, especially capturing the imagination of the youth…”

The BJP leaders added that with “visible development” in the region that has “brought employment and better standard of living due to educational institutions”, the local population will “believe” the reason for the shift made by the local leaders.

“The fact is that today tribal youth are able to pursue professional courses and become doctors, engineers, lawyers and choose a life they want… There are opportunities for dignified employment in the region and ahead of the 2027 polls, the new leaders will have enough time to reiterate the BJP’s pitch for SoU as the model for tribal development and the upcoming tourism projects in the area… Ultimately, people want progress and opportunities,” the senior BJP leader said.

AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava on Wednesday criticised Sanghavi and the BJP for holding a rally and political event at the time of the ongoing Gujarat State Education board exams. Chaitar Vasava also said that the BJP, at the time of the ongoing Assembly session, was “laying more emphasis on political events, rather than providing answers to questions raised in the House”.

Senior Congress leaders said that Praful Vasava was “not associated with the party” and Raj Vasava was “never an active Congress leader” and that it would not affect the party in the region.