Ahead of Gujarat polls, Vaghela set to split Congress

July 21, 2017 09:27

Former Gujarat CM Shankersinh Vaghela is all set to split the Congress state unit on his 77th birthday on Friday. It will come as a body blow to the main opposition party and a boon for the ruling BJP ahead of the November assembly polls.

Vaghela, a BJP rebel who had merged his Rashtriya Janata Party with Congress 17 years back, is holding a gathering of supporters at Gandhinagar town hall on Friday to celebrate his birthday and announce his plans which may substantially alter the political course in PM Narendra Modi's home state.

While some of his loyal MLAs are keen on returning to BJP, Vaghela is nurturing plans to spearhead a third front, which may include Nationalist Congress Party, JD-U and emerging young turks like Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakore and Jignesh Mewani, who have become the rallying points for Patidars, Thakores and Dalits, respectively.

Vaghela is miffed with Congress, which turned down his demand that he be declared the face of the party's campaign and the CM candidate in the assembly polls.

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