Gujarat: Former Congress MLA Resigns Over Party Declining Ram Mandir Invite, Praises PM Modi

Ex-Congress MLA CJ Chavda resigned from Congress on Friday because of the party's approach towards the upcoming Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony.

Former MLA CJ Chavda presented his resignation from Congress to Shankar Chaudhary.

Source : ANI

CJ Chavda, former MLA and a veteran Congress leader, who represented the Vijapur constituency in Gujarat, resigned on Friday. He was associated with Congress for the past 25 years and was a crucial member of the old party from Gujarat. According to The Indian Express, his exit from the party hints at a possible shift to the Bharatiya Janata Party. Chavda's move right before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is going to hurt the Congress.

Chavda submitted his formal resignation to the Speaker of the Gujarat State Assembly at his official residence in Gandhinagar. 

Gujarat: Congress MLA from Vijapur CJ Chavda hands over his resignation to Gujarat Assembly Speaker Shankar Chaudhary at his residence in Gandhinagar pic.twitter.com/AEoaI3mTfO

— ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2024

Chavda after resigning praised PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He said, "I have resigned from Congress. I have worked in the Congress for 25 years... The reason is that when the people of the whole country are joyous because of the Pran Pratishtha at Ram Mandir and there is a wave of joy among the people, instead of being a part of that wave of joy, the approach that this party (Congress) has shown is the reason for being upset... We should support the works and policies of the two huge leaders of Gujarat PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. But I would not have been able to do that while being in Congress. Hence, I resigned..."

#WATCH | Gandhinagar, Gujarat: On his resignation from Congress, Former Congress MLA CJ Chavda says, "I have resigned from Congress. I have worked in the Congress for 25 years... The reason is that when the people of the whole country are joyous because of the Pran Pratishtha at… https://t.co/bW4TQFQpgj pic.twitter.com/XD4XVjMRI5

— ANI (@ANI) January 19, 2024

After his departure, Congress's representation in the Gujarat Assembly will be significantly impacted as the party's strength has now reduced to 15 MLAs.

Chavda was the chief whip in the previous election when he won the Gandhinagar North constituency. He changed his constituency to Vijapura from Gandhinagar in 2022. He was also the presidents of the  Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee and Gandhinagar District Congress Committee.