SURAT: After a senior Rathwa jolted the tribal area at Chhota Udepur by changing his political hues, another senior tribal leader Chhotu Vasava too sent shockwaves after his son Mahesh replaced him on his traditional Assembly seat Jhagadia in Bharuch district, from where he had won seven times in a row.
Mahesh who won from the Dediapada seat and is also the Bharatiya Tribal Party’s (BTP) national president will be a candidate for Jhagadia stated a list of candidates that was circulated on Wednesday. The BTP, which has pockets of influence in tribal-dominated areas of the BJP-ruled state, won two Assembly seats in 2017 when it fought elections in an alliance with the Congress.
Chhotu Vasava, 75, who was earlier with the Janata Dal (United), had founded the BTP, a regional outfit which later severed ties with the main opposition party, the Congress and entered into a short-lived alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) earlier this year.
The list issued on the letterhead of BTP has been signed by the national president, also declared the name of Bahadursinh Vasava to replace Mahesh in Dediapada seat. The party’s first list of 12 candidates was announced on Sunday, of which nine were fielded from ST-reserved seats.
Despite several attempts, Mahesh was, however, not available for his comments. “Maheshbhai has gone out and is not available at present,” an associate of Mahesh told TOI, when the reporter contacted Mahesh on his mobile phone.
Claiming that he is not contesting from Jhagadia in this election, senior Vasava told TOI over phone, “I am not contesting the assembly election from Jhagadia. I will contest the parliamentary election from here now. I had proposed Mahesh’s name for Jhagadia.”
Party sources said the senior Vasava is not likely to contest polls this time due to his poor health. Refuting the health claims, Vasava said, “My health is good and I am fit to contest the election. But all the current arrangements are being done with my approval.”
BTP had announced association with JDU recently but after Wednesday’s development it is speculated that Mahesh is in talks with the BJP for electoral partnership.
Sources within the political circles in Bharuch claim that Mahesh is facing a tough fight from the BJP in Dediapada because of which he switched the seat with his father. It is also claimed that the father-son duo may have developed differences over the association with the ruling BJP.
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