Former BJP MP Prabhatsinh Chauhan joins Congress in Gujarat

On Tuesday, Chauhan joined the Congress party in presence of senior leaders Sachin Pilot, Amit Chavda, Naran Rathwa, Jagdish Thakor, Sukhram Rathwa and Siddharth Patel. Sources said that Chauhan is aspiring to contest the upcoming polls from Kalol or Godhra assembly constituency.

An influential leader in Panchmahal, Mahisagar, and Kheda districts, Chauhan was, however, criticised for being miffed over Suman’s candidature in 2017 Assembly polls, following which the party dropped in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A senior BJP leader said, “The party had been trying to explain to him that he must involve himself in party activities. But he has been aloof and trying to push his family members for party tickets. It is strictly not allowed anymore… We had been expecting this move for a long time and it has come before the polls. Since he was barely active in the party nowadays, his departure will not affect the prospects of the BJP in any of the seats.”

Chauhan, known to be close to former chief minister Shankarsinh Vaghela, was elected as a Congress MLA from Kalol in 1980 but joined the BJP in 1991. He was a BJP MLA from Kalol in 1998 and 2002 and was also a Minister of State under the chief ministership of Narendra Modi in Gujarat. In 2009 and 2014, he contested and won two consecutive terms as MP from Panchmahal.

Chauhan’s daughter-in-law Suman Chauhan is a BJP MLA from Kalol and was recently in the news for being part of the Jail Advisory Committee (JAC) that recommended the release of the 11 life-term convicts in the 2002 Bilkis Bano case. BJP party sources said that the party has not decided if Suman would be repeated for a second term from Kalol in the upcoming polls.