Jolt To Congress As Party's Rajya Sabha MP From Gujarat Naran Rathwa Joins BJP With His Son

Rajya Sabha MP And former Union minister Naran Rathwa who is also a prominent tribal leader hailing from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat has joined the BJP Ahead Of the Lok Sabha Election 2024.

New Delhi: In a major jolt to Congress in Gujarat, its Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister Naran Rathwa along with his son and a large number of supporters joined the ruling BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday, as reported by PTI.

Rathwa, a prominent tribal leader hailing from Chhota Udepur in Gujarat, is approaching the end of his term as a Rajya Sabha member, set to conclude in April of this year. He was elected to the Lok Sabha five times in his past - first in 1989, then in 1991, 1996, 1998, and 2004. 

Rathwa's son, Sangramsinh, had previously contested the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections as a Congress candidate from the Scheduled Tribe (ST)-reserved Chhota Udepur seat, but was unsuccessful. He, along with his father and a significant number of supporters, joined the BJP today.

Notably, Rathwa served as a Minister of State for Railways in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004, and lost to BJP candidate Ramsinh Rathwa of the BJP in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.

Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil introduced Rathwa and others into the party by offering them saffron scarves and caps at the party's state unit headquarters 'Kamalam.'

I Am Influenced By PM Narendra Modi's Way Of Functioning: Rathwa

Speaking to the media afterward, Rathwa said that his decision to join the BJP stemmed not from resentment towards the Congress but from a desire to ensure the rapid progress and development of the state's tribal region. "I am influenced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's way of functioning, which I noticed for six years as a Rajya Sabha member. We want to work together and without any opposition so that all such development works are completed at a rapid pace and the tribal region is not left behind in the journey of development," he stated, PTI reported.

On the same occasion, former Congress leader Dharmendra Patel also joined the BJP.

As per PTI, Patel expressed that he was with the BJP six years ago, and it was a kind of "ghar wapsi" (homecoming) for him. "In the last six years with the Congress, I realised that the party lacked a direction and vision that characterises the ruling party, he told media persons after joining the saffron party," he said.