Dinner diplomacy by senior Congress leader Shankersinh Vaghela popularly known as ‘Bapu’ among his supporters and acquaintance, has turned up political heat in the poll bound Gujarat.
The 76-year-old stalwart threw a gala party at his palatial Bungalow ‘Vasant Vagado’ situated at Vasania village on the outskirts of the State capital Gandhinagar on Monday night turned up as a show of strength. Apart from Gujarat Congress in-charge Gurudas Kamat, 36 out of 57 Congress MlAs attended the party.
Majority of the MlAs who attended the dinner reportedly told Kamat to declare Vaghela as Congress party’s Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming Assembly elections. Vaghela who is leader of Opposition (loP) in the Gujarat Assembly has given a proposal to make one of the Patidar MlAs as loP if he would be made CM candidate.
“If Congress wants to win the Gujarat polls, the party has no option, but to declare him as CM candidate. He is the one who can give real fight to Narendra Modi in political arena, provided the party high command gives him freehand,” said an MlA while talking to The Pioneer.
According to him Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) was suffering from too many factions. In such situation it would be difficult to regain power in the State, he said, adding that the party has great chance to win the election in the backdrop of pro-quota agitation of Patel community, unemployment issue raised by OBC leaders and protests of backward community leaders post Dalit flogging incident in Una.
Over the past few months Vaghela’s supporters are lobbying for him in campaign mode by saying ‘Bapu Aave Chhe’ (Bapu is coming) linking Gujarat Congress’s slogan Congress Aave Chhe (Congress is coming) in context to
the Assembly elections. However Bapu’s rival groups said that high command was not happy with Vaghela’s arm twisting tactics to project himself as the top Congress leader of Gujarat.
Reacting on some Congress MlAs demand, GPCC president Bharatsinh Solanki in his official statement said that they had given opinion, which in a democratic party like Congress was their right. Final decision on the issue would be taken by the party high command, said Solanki.
Vaghela who worked shoulder to shoulder with Narendra Modi as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Jan Sangh and BJP member came to limelight in national politics in September 1995 following Khajuraho episode when
he rebelled against BJP leadership with the support of 47 MlAs and went to Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh along with them and toppled then Keshubhai Patel Government. later on this powerful political leader went on to become Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 1996 by forming his own political outfit Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) with Congress party’s support.