Sitting Congress MLA Bhagwan Barad joins BJP in Gujarat ahead of assembly polls

On Wednesday, Barad joined the BJP along with his supporters in the presence of party general secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela and other leaders.

Barad, 63, is a strong leader of the Talala region of the Gir Somnath district. In the 2017 Gujarat assembly election, he won by more than 31,000 votes as a Congress MLA. He belongs to the Ahir community which is considered to be electorally significant in the Saurashtra region. He hails from a political family. Barad’s father Dhanabhai and brother Jashubhai were senior Congress leaders.

Speaking with the media after joining the BJP, Barad said he has submitted his resignation to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya. Barad also said that he does not want to indulge in any criticism of anybody and that he joined the BJP after a lot of thinking. He added, “I am joining the BJP to join the development journey of Narendrabhai Modi and will perform whatever task is given to me by the party.”

He also said that his family originally worked for the Janata Dal (JD) under the leadership of Chimanbhai Patel and had to join Congress against their will after JD’s merger with it.

Barad claimed that the Congress will be decimated in Gujarat and added that he will work to ensure the BJP’s victory in all the seats of Gir Somnath and Junagadh districts in the upcoming assembly election.

In March 2019, Barad was convicted in a 24-year-old case of illegal limestone mining by a magisterial court. His conviction, however, was subsequently stayed by the Gujarat High Court.

With Rathva and Barad’s resignations, Congress’s tally in Gujarat assembly now stands at 60.