After stirring a hornets’ nest by ‘defying’ all senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, and challenging his party’s high command over leadership in Gujarat Congress in view of forthcoming Assembly polls, leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly Shankersinh
Vaghela has gone for a week-long China visit.
Speculation is making rounds in the political circles that anytime ahead of the Assembly polls Vaghela may return to BJP. If sources in the Congress have to be believed, Vaghela had demanded that the party high command should change Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee
(GPCC) president ahead of the Gujarat polls.
Vaghela’s differences with GPCC president Bharatsinh Solanki surfaced after his supporters lobbied to project him as Chief Ministerial candidate. However, the party high command maintained that after the poll result, if Congress gets majority let the party MlA decide their leader.
Even in the recently held GPCC executive meeting newly appointed in-charge of Gujarat and former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also gave clear message to Vaghela that party would not announce CM candidate for the Gujarat polls.
Within a week after the meeting Vaghela told his team to ‘unfollow’ 30 senior Congress leaders including Rahul Gandhi from social medial handles. later on, he skipped party’s IT cell meet, held at a stone throw distance from his residence in the State Capital Gandhinagar.
The veteran politician said that by unfollowing Congress leaders he wanted to give message to everyone that he was not in the race of CM. He further said that party should have announced the list of candidates a year in advance, so they could work in their respective Constituencies to counter BJP.