Shaktisinh Gohil, Bharat Bhushan Ashu Resign After Congress Faces Double Blow In Punjab, Gujarat Bypolls

Following Congress's poor performance in Gujarat bypolls, state president Shaktisinh Gohil resigned. Similarly, Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu resigned after losing the Ludhiana West bypoll to AAP.

In the aftermath of a disappointing performance in the bypolls for Gujarat’s Kadi and Visavadar assembly constituencies, state Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil tendered his resignation on Monday.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the Kadi (SC) seat while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) clinched victory in Visavadar. The Congress finished a distant third in both contests, a sharp fall from its once dominant position in Gujarat.

Gohil announced his decision soon after the results were declared, stating, “Since the assembly bypoll results were not as per our expectations, I have taken the moral responsibility for my party’s defeat and resigned as president of the Gujarat Congress. I have mailed my resignation letter to our national president Mallikarjun Kharge,” he told reporters at a press briefing, as per news agency PTI.

The bypolls were held on June 19, with votes counted on June 23. Gohil, who is a Rajya Sabha MP and was appointed Gujarat Congress president in June 2023, said he might have reconsidered his decision had the party won even one seat.

AAP’s Italia and BJP’s Chavda Secure Wins In Gujarat

In Visavadar (Junagadh district), AAP leader Gopal Italia, a former state president of the party, defeated BJP’s Kirit Patel by 17,554 votes. Italia garnered 75,942 votes, followed by Patel with 58,388. Congress candidate Nitin Ranpariya managed just 5,501 votes, coming in third.

In Kadi, a Scheduled Caste-reserved seat in Mehsana district, BJP’s Rajendra Chavda won with a margin of 39,452 votes over Congress’s Ramesh Chavda. Rajendra Chavda secured 99,742 votes, while Ramesh Chavda obtained 60,290 votes.

Until a new Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) chief is appointed, senior MLA and Gujarat Congress general secretary Shailesh Parmar will serve as the interim in-charge, Gohil informed.

Punjab Congress Working President Bharat Bhushan Ashu Also Resigns

A similar development unfolded in Punjab, where Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu stepped down after losing the Ludhiana West assembly bypoll.

Ashu confirmed his resignation, saying, “I have tendered my resignation while taking moral responsibility for the electoral defeat in the byelection.”

The AAP retained the seat with its candidate Sanjeev Arora winning by a margin of 10,637 votes. Arora received 35,179 votes, while Ashu polled 24,542, according to Election Commission data. BJP’s Jiwan Gupta and Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Parupkar Singh Ghuman received 20,323 and 8,203 votes, respectively.

The byelection was necessitated by the death of sitting AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January. The loss marks a significant setback for Congress, which had previously held the urban seat six times. Ashu had represented Ludhiana West in 2012 and 2017.