Gujarat Confidential: ‘Missed’ berth

As the Gujarat state cabinet expansion was held on Friday, speculation is Nandod BJP MLA Darshana Deshmukh lost out on the Cabinet berth due to alleged interference from party colleague and Bharuch Lok Sabha MP Mansukh Vasava, who had recently made a public statement accusing Deshmukh of siding with Aam Aadmi Party MLA Chaitar Vasava.

On Friday, Chaitar, while reacting to the reshuffle said, “We had received information from insiders that Darshna Deshmukh was to be inducted in the cabinet but since Mansukh Vasava was highly insecure that her induction in the government would make her the most probable candidate for the next Lok Sabha election, he used his tactics and made baseless allegations against her, which went against her and she lost out on the Ministerial post.”

Insiders in the BJP, however, said Deshmukh’s face-off with party State General Secretary Ratnakar during his visit to Narmada was the reason for her losing out on the chance to get a portfolio in the government. “It had sent out a wrong impression about her in the party organisation”, the insider said.