Ahmedabad: In a blow to the Congress before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, senior OBC leader Kunwarji Bavaliya on Tuesday quit the party and joined, as cabinet minister, the Vijay Rupani-led BJP government in Gujarat.
Bavaliya, who accused Congress president Rahul Gandhi of "playing casteist politics in the party", was administered the oath of office by Governor OP Kohli. In the fast-paced development over a few hours, Bavaliya resigned from the Congress and as an MLA, drove to the BJP office where he was inducted in the party, and took oath as a minister at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar.
In an email to Gandhi informing about the resignation, Bavaliya expressed displeasure about the way the party was functioning in the state, Congress sources said.
Talking to reporters, he alleged that Gandhi was encouraging casteist politics inside the party organisation.
"The way Rahul-ji is playing casteist politics, I realised I will not be able to succeed in working in the Congress any more.
"I was not getting a chance to work the way I wanted to in the Congress due to constant infighting. This government is moving ahead with a mission, and I will be able to succeed in fulfilling the expectations of people, rural populace, the poor and farmers," he said.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, "Even in the past, the then chief minister and now prime minister, Narendrabhai was very closely associated with me. He used to tell me that we need people like you." "I have been taking note of the way our prime minister has been working. I have supported the direction he has given to the country's economy," Bavaliya said.