Rumours over Alpesh snapping ties with Congress

Gandhinagar, March 8 (IANS) : Political circles in Gujarat were agog with speculation that Congress' OBC legislator Alpesh Thakor might resign and join the BJP anytime, even as two other party MLAs quit on Friday with one of them embracing the ruling party.

Alpesh Thakor, who joined the Congress in the run-up to the 2017 assembly elections and is among the young trinity of Hardik Patel and Jignesh Mevani, has been evasive about his move even as political grapevine has it that the BJP may give him a cabinet berth or a Lok Sabha ticket.

It is also being speculated that while he would be made a minister, his wife might be given a Lok Sabha ticket.

Congress spokesperson Ashok Punjabi, however, told IANS on Friday evening: "Alpesh is not going anywhere and is going to stay in Congress. He has had a wonderful meeting with Rahul ji and our central leadership today. He will clarify everything in his press brief on Saturday. You will see."

Thakor could not be reached despite repeated attempts. Congress sources, meanwhile, said Thakor had been hankering for a Lok Sabha ticket but the Congress leadership has not given any commitment. He met senior leader Ahmed Patel in New Delhi on Friday though it was not known what transpired in the meeting, while he was also expected to meet party president Rahul Gandhi.

Thakor also had issues with the Gujarat Congress leadership that he was being sidelined or ignored in the party and had conveyed that he would decide the future course of action after meeting the AICC chief.

Meanwhile, the Congress party suffered a setback after its four-time MLA Jawahar Chavda from Manavadar in the Saurashtra region quit and joined the BJP here on Friday, while hours later another legislator Parshottam Saparia from Dhrangadhara put in his papers and was likely to embrace the ruling party.