Vadodara BJP MP Ranjan Bhatt withdraws from 2024 Lok Sabha poll race amid dissent in local unit
Ranjan Bhatt’s decision comes days after Dr Jyoti Pandya, former national vice-president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha, was suspended after she rebelled against the two-term MP’s candidature.
Days after a rebellion within the local BJP unit followed by banners in different parts of the city against her candidature, Vadodara MP Ranjan Bhatt – whom the party had fielded from the constituency again, hoping for a third term – pulled out of the Lok Sabha poll race on Saturday citing “personal reasons”. In posts put up on her social media accounts, Bhatt said on Saturday morning that she had conveyed to the party that “she is not inclined to contest”.
Speaking about her decision, Ranjan Bhatt told reporters on Saturday, “The way things have been panning out in the last ten days since my candidature was announced, I felt that although the party has given me a ticket, I should not contest. I made the decision this morning while I was sitting in reflection… I will continue to work as a BJP member and will strive to win this constituency for the party, whoever be the next candidate.”
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The decision comes days after former national vice president of the BJP’s Mahila Morcha Dr Jyoti Pandya was suspended after she rebelled against Bhatt’s candidature and alleged that the MP had been “inefficient” in her ten-year tenure and questioned the flow of “development funds” meant for the city. Even as her supporters thronged to her residence on Saturday the elected representatives of the BJP in Vadodara and the office bearers of the city and district unit remained conspicuous by their absence.
Asked if the party had directed her to voluntarily back off due to the ongoing unrest in Vadodara, the two-time MP said, “The party had given me the ticket for the third term; they did not deny me the chance to contest so why would they ask me to withdraw? I am indebted to (Narendra) Modi saheb for giving me two terms as MP to work with him and for Vadodara…”
Bhatt added that she has made up her mind to pull out of the election race and will ask the party to nominate another candidate. “Whoever will be the next Vadodara MP will work for the development of the constituency. I have worked with full commitment for the last ten years in my capacity as an MP. Now, the party can decide who should be the next candidate as it was on my own that I made this decision.”
Speaking about the ongoing campaign against her, Ranjan Bhatt said, “Since my name was declared as the Vadodara candidate, whoever has been running it (the anti-Bhatt campaign), has been making allegations…They are making allegations that my son has a mall in Australia. He doesn’t even own a shop. I have some self-respect and so I wanted to put an end to these false allegations as something new will keep coming up until I contest the elections…. Despite all that, my entire team of BJP leaders, my party workers as well as the intellectuals of the city or the voters – everyone has been with me in the karyakarta sammelans that we have been holding every day. But there are false narratives created against me to malign my name… I do not care about the Congress putting up posters as I am strong enough alone to thwart them, but I do not need to contest an election to prove that.”
On Wednesday, posters came up in two parts of the city with slogans against the BJP and Bhatt. Within hours, the Vadodara police arrested four people, including two Congress workers, for putting up the banners overnight.
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Ranjan Bhatt first won the October 2014 bypoll from Vadodara when Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the constituency, which he had won by a record margin of 5.7 lakh votes, in favour of Varanasi. In the 2019 general elections, she won the seat by a margin of 5.89 lakh votes (72.22%). The former deputy mayor and former corporator of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, Bhatt’s nomination had triggered trouble in the city unit which was expecting a change of candidate from the ‘safe seat’.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
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