THE dust had barely settled on the high-stakes Gujarat election battle when the new Visavadar MLA, Bhupat Bhayani, hinted at a change of heart. Speaking to media outlets, the Aam Aadmi Party MLA suggested that he could move to the BJP. “I will consult the people first,” Bhayani added. Making its debut in the Gujarat Assembly, the AAP won five seats this time, making every MLA crucial to the party's big plans in the state. Bhayani's was also a prestigious win, with Visavadar in Junagadh district earlier held by former chief minister Keshubhai Patel thrice. However, this victory had a caveat: Bhayani, a Patidar in a seat dominated by them, used to be in the BJP before moving to the AAP. The BJP fielded sitting Congress MLA Harshad Ribadiya, who had crossed sides to the party. Bhayani won by 7,063 votes against Ribadiya. The last time Keshubhai won Visavadar was in 2012, after he had floated a new party and revolted against the BJP under Narendra Modi as chief minister. So, having lost the constituency to the AAP, and getting it back in the form of Bhayani, would be sweet revenge in more than one way for the BJP. A day after he suggested that he was considering moving to the BJP, the 48-year-old Bhayani told The Indian Express: "I am with the AAP as of now, and I wish to stay with it. There was confusion yesterday, now there is none, now everything is clear. I am not going anywhere.” Party sources, however, said that what had changed was that while Bhayani hoped to take along another AAP MLA from Saurashtra with him to the BJP, the AAP had managed to convince the latter to stay. Two out of five MLAs constitute one-third of AAP Legislative Party and hence would not have invited anti-defection. “But after AAP leaders got the whiff and persuaded the other MLA to stay, it made Bhayani’s position precarious as he faced the risk of being disqualified as an MLA in case he defected to the BJP alone,” a source in Junagadh said. Others added that the situation could change any time. “He (Bhayani) remains a person who finds the BJP ideology attractive. His defection to the AAP had more to do with local rivalry than party ideology. Therefore, having proven a point and sent a message to his rivals by winning the Visavadar seat, Bhayani wanted a truce and to return to the BJP fold," said a leader. A farmer who dropped out of school after Class 10, Bhayani started his political career in 2002 as a BJP worker. He was appointed president of the BJP's Yuva Morcha unit for Bhesan taluka that year, and in 2007, elevated as vice-president of the Morcha for Junagadh district. Slowly and steadily, he rose up thte ranks, becoming vice-president of the Junagadh district unit in 2014, even as he won several panchayat elections. Sources said Bhayani decided to leave the BJP after a falling out with Kirit Patel, the president of the party's Junagadh district unit, who lost the 2017 Assembly election from Visavadar to the Congress's Ribadiya. “Patel held a number of party workers, including Bhayani, responsible for his defeat to Ribadiya and used his office to 'punish' them. Many BJP workers, including Bhayani, were booked in criminal cases after that,” said a source. Bhayani faced charges such as voluntarily causing hurt, and one such case is still pending against him. Patidar leaders such as him were also apprehensive about the community's anger with the BJP. “Under Kirit Patel, several non-Patidars were elected to local bodies. This further disillusioned the Patidars about Patel’s intentions,” sources said, adding that the BJP's campaign showing its candidate Ribadiya with Kirit Patel also hurt the party. In 2020, as the AAP emerged as an option in the state, particularly in the Saurashtra region, Bhayani moved to the new party. The AAP made him vice-president of its Junagadh district unit, and announced him as its candidate for Visavadar seat in October this year. Asked about his plans now, Bhayani said: "Ab dekhenge future mein, kis tarah se struggle karenge. Kuchch bhi karke, kaam nikalenge. Lekin ab kuchch doosra mirnay nahin karna hai (We will see in the future now, how to carry on the struggle. The intention is to somehow get work done. Apart from that, I don't intend to make any other decision now)."
