Alpesh Thakor’s meeting with Gujarat deputy CM triggers talk of BJP entry
New Delhi, May 28: Former Congressman and Gujarat OBC leader Alpesh Thakor on Monday met deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, triggering speculation that he may join the ruling BJP.
Thakor, the MLA from Radhanpur in Patan district, had quit the Congress before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Thakor
met
Patel
at
his
Gandhinagar
office
for
about
about
half
an
hour,
BJP
sources
said.
The
OBC
leader's
associate
and
Congress
MLA
from
Bayad
Dhavalsinh
Zala
was
also
present
at
the
meeting,
they
said.
However, what transpired in the meeting was not known as both Thakor and Zala could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Hardik Patel slams Alpesh Thakor, says he couldn't handle power given by Congress
The BJP appeared reluctant to provide details and speculate on the OBC leader's future course of action.
"There is no such development with regards to Alpesh Thakor (on joining the BJP) The meeting might be for some other reason as he is an MLA," state BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said.
However, speculation is rife among sections in both the Congress and the BJP here that he may be headed towards the saffron camp.
Thakor
had
resigned
from
the
Congress
in
April,
apparently
after
being
unhappy
with
the
local
party
leadership
for
not
considering
him
for
ticket
from
the
Patan
Lok
Sabha
seat.
The
Congress
chose
former
MP
Jagdish
Thakor
over
him
from
Patan.
The Congress had also ignored Thakor's demand for ticket to a member of his outfit, the Thakor Sena, from the Banaskantha Lok Sabha seat.
After emerging as a prominent OBC leader in Gujarat, he had joined the opposition party before the 2017 state polls and won from the Radhanpur assembly seat.
Will BJP benefit from Alpesh Thakor's Congress exit?
Before quitting the Congress, he had met party president Rahul Gandhi and conveyed his displeasure against the functioning of the state leadership.
The OBC leader, who continues to be MLA, had claimed his community and supporters were feeling "cheated" and "ignored" by the Congress.
The BJP won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat in the just-concluded general election.