In a major blow to the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's close aide and former Jodhpur mayor Rameshwar Dadhich joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The former Jodhpur mayor filed his nomination as an independent candidate from the Sursagar constituency for the upcoming state assembly elections.
Jaipur: Congress has suffered a major setback ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's close aide and former Jodhpur mayor Rameshwar Dadhich has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dadhich is the former mayor of Jodhpur Municipal Corporation.
Membership taken in the presence of many senior leaders
Representatives of various parties and social organizations including Dausa Congress leader Vinod Sharma have joined the BJP. On Thursday, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi, Water Power Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and BJP State President C.P. Joshi welcomed Dadhich and other leaders by draping a scarf on them on joining the BJP. Dadhich wanted to contest the election from Sursagar Assembly constituency on a Congress ticket, but the Congress has given the ticket to Shahzad Khan from this seat.
Frustrated at not getting a ticket
Angry at not getting the ticket, Dadhich had filed nomination papers as an independent candidate. On Thursday, he announced his withdrawal from the election fray. Dadhich alleged that CM Gehlot has given the ticket to a Muslim leader to balance his political equations. It is noteworthy that Jodhpur is Gehlot's home town. On the other hand, the state media department of BJP said that 17 rebels have withdrawn from the election fray in favor of the party's authorized candidates.
Girraj Singh Malinga also left Congress
Earlier on November 6, Congress MLA from Bari Girraj Singh Malinga had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and said that he switched sides because leaders were being targeted one by one in the party. Madhya Pradesh is one of the five states where polling is scheduled to be held in a single phase on November 17 and the counting of votes will take place on December 3. Voters will elect MLAs from 230 assembly constituencies.
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