Arjun Rathva joins Congress along with several AAP and BJP leaders
"I am not here for power. I want to fight the BJP as the people of Gujarat are looking for a change in 2024," Rathva said on his latest move, referring to the Lok Sabha elections next year.
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Arjun Rathva had quit AAP last week In a significant boost for Congress, several AAP leaders and some members of the BJP joined the grand old party on Tuesday. Chhota Udepur tribal leader Arjun Rathva, who had quit the AAP last week citing “lack of political seriousness”, was among those who were welcomed to the party on Tuesday in Ahmedabad in the presence of Gujarat Congress chief Shaktisinh Gohil.
“I am not here for power. I want to fight the BJP as the people of Gujarat are looking for a change in 2024,” Rathva said on his latest move, referring to the Lok Sabha elections next year. Rathva had recently met Gohil and Congress MLA Jignesh Mevani, and the photographs of the meeting were widely shared on social media triggering speculation about him switching sides.
AAP’s former vice president and a former professor in Chhota Udepur, Rathva had blamed the party’s “lack of political seriousness” and “sidelining senior leaders” as the reason for quitting the party. On Tuesday, he maintained that his joining Congress was a part of his “fight against the BJP”.
“I was with AAP since 2013 when it had no base in Gujarat… I travelled across districts to build a foundation for the party because the aim was to fight for tribal rights in the field of education, health, and social development but I was left disillusioned by the lack of seriousness and other issues… Now, I have joined the Congress as I continue to be in favour of a corruption-free government that works for all communities,” he said.
On his switch, Gohil stressed, “Arjun Rathva has been with the AAP for over 10 years. He contested the elections and bagged 45,000 votes. We are pleased to have him in our party. The BJP’s policies are against the tribal parties. The AAP is nothing but a way to eat into the votes of Congress and in such a situation, Arjunbhai has expressed his wish to work in the Congress, which is with the tribals.”
Meanwhile, as per Congress, from the AAP, state unit secretary, and observer of Chhota Udepur Mayank Sharma, state joint secretary and Patan district observer Prashant Chaudhary, state vice president and Sabarkantha district in charge Shirish Trivedi, Sabarmati district general secretary Hasmukh Kapadia, Vadodara district youth president Vishal Patel, Patan district general secretary Deven Patel, Sabarmati district SC Cell president Shamalji Parmar and other members from the party joined the Congress on Tuesday.
From the Banaskantha district, the Congress said, a BJP candidate for the panchayat, Hemrajji Solanki, and seven other members of the BJP joined the party.
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