Gandhinagar, Japan K Pathak: Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Gujarat and Congress leader Ashwin Kotwal is going to join ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today at State BJP headquarters Shri Kamalam here. He has resigned from primary membership and all positions of the Congress party.

Ahead of joining BJP on auspicious day of Akshay Trutiya (Akhatrij), Kotwal sought blessing of Bhagwan Shamlaji’s photo at his home. He left his house in a style of procession with dhol-nagara sounds.

Kotwal in reply to media query said: In the recent past, the way Narendra Modi saheb is working and development is reaching the last mile tribal areas, I feel I should partner with this journey of development and therefore I am joining BJP.

Kotwal said he will be joining BJP with two to three thousand supporters, but that shall be just a trailer, picture abhi baki hai. Kotwal said he will roam through the tribal belt from Umargam to Ambaji and discuss the issues pertaining to tribal people.

Congress MLA Ashwin Kotwal resigns from State assembly and all positions of party ahead of joining BJP today https://t.co/o6Ya7xcS8I pic.twitter.com/OBdsCA8xQl

— DeshGujarat (@DeshGujarat) May 3, 2022

If we look at the scenario after new delimitation in place, Khedbrahma voters had given the majority to the Congress party in 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections and 2012 and 2017 assembly elections. However in the year 2019 Lok Sabha election, the majority of Khedbrahma voters had voted for BJP and the party had gained a lead of 16,807 votes. Last year in statewide local elections, Yash Kotwal, son of Ashwin Kotwal had lost Chitariya seat of Vijaynagar taluka panchayat in Khedbrahma constituency area. Yash was president of this Taluka panchayat previously. Ashwin Kotwal was the whip of the Congress party in the State assembly at that time. Kotwal might have smelled, which way the wind is flowing, through the results of 2019 and 2021. To add to that, his post of whip in the State assembly was snatched away by the party and he was replaced with another MLA early this year. This, when Kotwal was hoping to be made Leader of Opposition.

Kotwal is a three term MLA from Khedbrahma seat which is reserved for tribal candidates only. Before Kotwal, the seat had elected former Chief Minister and Congress leader Amarsinh Chaudhary for three terms. BJP had won Khedbrahma seat only once in year 1990. Party’s Becharbhai Bara had won the election that year.

Gujarat is going to witness general elections of State assembly in December this year. DeshGujarat

On joining BJP, Kotwal said: ‘I was upset with the party. The NGOs that have come up in tribal areas from Umargam to Ambaji mislead the tribal community. I had earlier also led attention to then Chief Minister Narendrabhai Modi regarding this and told him that NGOs are exploiting tribals on large-scale. Such NGOs should be led by tribals. Such NGOs received foreign funds to work in tribal areas. They pretend they are working for tribal but actually they cheat tribals to pocket money.’

‘When I contested the year 2007 assembly election, I saw Narendrabhai Modi’s works in tribal area. It is said that when Narendrabhai was working in RSS, he roamed through Kashmir to Kanyakumari and at tribal houses in tribal belt of Gujarat from Umargam to Ambaji. He witnessed the situation of tribals before he joined politics. He studied whether the schemes meant for tribal reach them. Narendrabhai would say that each tribal should have pakka ceiling house. He/she should have electricity and two meals. I was going to join BJP in 2007 because Modi saheb had called me and told me that he wants to do required work for tribal areas. He had told me in 2007 that I am invited to politics because my party has the requirements of good people. I have been elected from Congress thrice but Vikaspurush Narendrabhai is in my heart.’