AHMEDABAD: A day after resigning as a Congress MLA in Gujarat, Bhavesh Katara on Thursday joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Katara represented the Jhalod Assembly constituency in Dahod district.
પ્રદેશ કાર્યાલય 'શ્રી કમલમ્' ખાતે ઝાલોદના ધારાસભ્ય શ્રી ભાવેશભાઈ કટારા અને તેમના સમર્થકો ભાજપામાં જોડાયા.
આ પ્રસંગે પ્રદેશ મહામંત્રી શ્રી @pradipsinhbjp, ગૃહ રાજ્યમંત્રી શ્રી @sanghaviharsh, પ્રદેશ સહ પ્રવક્તા શ્રી @DrRutvij સહિત પ્રદેશ હોદ્દેદારો – કાર્યકર્તાઓ ઉપસ્થિત રહ્યાં. pic.twitter.com/aC2Bgo3VTC
— BJP Gujarat (@BJP4Gujarat) November 10, 2022
Notably, Katara was with the BJP in the past, but got suspended after he joined the Congress ahead of the 2017 polls, which he eventually won from Jhalod as a Congress candidate. He was one of the youngest legislators of the state at that time.
He is the third Congress MLA to resign in two days after Mohansinh Rathwa and Bhagwan Barad, who have also joined the ruling party.
Katara had submitted his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker Nimaben Acharya on Wednesday night at the latter’s residence. On Thursday, he was formally inducted into the BJP by the party’s state general secretary, Pradipsinh Vaghela, at the party’s state headquarters in Gandhinagar.
Talking to reporters, Katara said he re-joined the BJP without any pre-condition or commitment for a poll ticket.
“I was with the BJP in the past. I am not keen on contesting the polls this time. I am joining BJP again because I was impressed by the work done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the tribals,” he said.
Notably, Katara, who had defeated the BJP candidate in 2017, was not in the list of 43 candidates declared by the Congress a few days back. Instead of Katara, the party has chosen Mitesh Garasiya, who won in 2012, as its candidate for Jhalod this time.
The Jhalod seat is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Gujarat elections will be held in two phases on December 1 and December 5, and counting of votes will be held on December 8.
Source: Press Trust of India
