Rebel Congress leaders Alpesh Thakor and his close aide Dhavalinsh Jhala on Friday resigned from Gujarat Assembly soon after they cross voted in favour BJP candidates in the Rajya Sabha by-elections.
The BJP candidates—External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and OBC leader Jugal Thakore—are set to win the elections as they polled 105 votes each.
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Ever since Alpesh joined the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in 2017 in the presence of Rahul Gandhi, he had kept the party on tenterhooks.
Earlier, Alpesh and Jhala had quit their posts in the Congress, but claimed that they had not resigned from the party.
After cross voting on Friday, Alpesh told media that he had followed his conscience. He alleged that the Congress party targeted them and leaders of his community to hide its failures.
He held that the Congress was unable to read people's aspirations, and claimed he wanted to work for the poor people.
Rumours have it that both Alpesh and Jhala might join the BJP after the ongoing session of the state assembly.
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani reacted to the development by saying that Alpesh resigned as he was fed up with the Congress. Rupani, however, claimed that at this point in time there were no talks of Alpesh joining the BJP.
