'Small, Old Workers Not Taken Care Of': BJP MLA Resigns From Gujarat Assembly Ahead Of LS Polls

Inamdar clarified that his decision was not a pressure tactic and pledged to support BJP candidate Ranjan Bhatt in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

New Delhi: Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ketan Inamdar tendered his resignation from the state assembly on Tuesday, citing his "inner voice" and emphasizing the importance of self-respect.

Inamdar clarified that his decision was not a pressure tactic and pledged to support BJP candidate Ranjan Bhatt in the upcoming parliamentary elections, reported news agency PTI.

The three-term MLA from Savli constituency in Vadodara district submitted his resignation to legislative assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary.

In his resignation letter, Inamdar mentioned that he was resigning after listening to his "inner voice."

Speaking to reporters, Inamdar stressed that his action was not driven by pressure tactics. "For a long time, I felt that small and old workers (associated with the party since long) have not been taken care of by the party. I have apprised the leadership of this," the BJP leader said, as per the PTI report.

Earlier also, he announced his resignation as an MLA in January 2020, but the speaker did not accept it.

Inamdar highlighted his long association with the BJP and emphasized the importance of self-respect, stating that his decision reflected not only his own sentiments but also those of many party workers who felt similarly neglected.

"But like I had said in 2020, there is nothing bigger than self-respect. And this is not the voice of Ketan Inamdar alone but of every single party worker. I have said earlier that old party workers should not be ignored," he said.

"I will work day and night to ensure that our Lok Sabha poll candidate Ranjan Bhatt wins by the biggest margin. But this resignation is the result of my inner voice," he added, the PTI report added.

Inamdar was initially elected as an independent candidate in the 2012 assembly election before joining the BJP and winning subsequent elections in 2017 and 2022.

The BJP currently holds 156 seats out of the total 182 in the Gujarat assembly.

Polling for all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat is scheduled to take place in a single phase on May 7, with votes set to be counted on June 4.