Ex-councillors return to BJP irks former mayor, others

Vadodara: The reinduction of former councillor Alpesh Limbachiya into the BJP has not gone down well with former mayor Nilesh Rathod and some other party members.Limbachiya was earlier suspended from the party after an offence was registered against him for circulating a letter that allegedly defamed Rathod.He was arrested in July 2023 following a police probe into the letter scandal. The investigation was initiated after Rathod's brother filed a complaint alleging that the letter contained corruption allegations against Rathod, who was serving as the mayor at the time. Two relatives of Limbachiya were also arrested in connection with the case.Rathod said the decision to reinstate Limbachiya was taken by the party leadership, which had the authority to do so. However, while refraining from directly criticising the party, he said he had been informed about a week ago that Limbachiya was likely to be taken back into the party."I had told the city unit president at that time that I should be heard before any such decision is taken," Rathod said. However, this did not happen, and he was asked to approach the state leadership, which had taken the decision.Rathod said he was not comfortable with the party's decision, adding that Limbachiya had targeted the mayor's office at the time and not him in his personal capacity.Manjalpur BJP MLA Yogesh Patel also told media persons that he had not been consulted about Limbachiya's reinduction. Both Rathod and Limbachiya were elected from wards that fall within Patel's Assembly constituency.