Ahmedabad Diary | Rude jolt for BJP in municipal elections

The BJP has suffered a jolt in Dahod’s Devgadh Baria Municipality, where independents, Congress members and BJP’s own suspended councillors united to snatch power. Suspended BJP member Neel Soni defeated BJP’s Dharmesh Kalal to claim the president’s post after a no-confidence revolt shattered the ruling camp. Analysts call it BJP’s growing factional fire, not just dissent. Soni won with a 16-vote bloc cutting across party lines, accusing Kalal of nepotism and zero development. Kalal denied wrongdoing but failed to stop the November 10 election despite a High Court plea. The upset signals a sharp crack in BJP’s local grip.State Congress to hold 60-day Jan Akrosh YatraCongress has opened a fresh front against the BJP government ahead of Gujarat’s local body polls, by launching a 60-day, statewide Jan Akrosh Yatra. After the Somnath-to-Dwarka farmers’ march, the party will now storm five zones, covering 1,100 km from Vav-Tharad starting November 21. Public meetings across seven districts and 40 talukas will spotlight anger over farmers’ distress, youth unemployment, women’s safety and inflation. State Congress chief Amit Chavda slammed the BJP’s three-decade rule as “British-style governance” that filled state coffers but emptied people’s hopes. The mobilisation signals Congress’ aggressive pitch.BJP MLA stirs row with anti-Congress remarksWith panchayat elections nearing, Padra BJP MLA Chaitanya Singh Jhala ignited a political storm at the Mobha Snehamilan event. Attacking Congress as being “loud liars,” he claimed Padra’s development was stalled for years because of them from the highway project to drinking water supply. Jhala went further, alleging Rohingya migrants were living in Padra and “snatching citizens’ rights,” adding that such people must be traced and “sent back to Bangladesh.” He said BJP governments at every level were delivering work on the ground, while Congress survived only on false credit-taking. His fiery remarks have intensified the heat in Vadodara.Dilip Singh KshatriyaOur correspondent in Gujaratdilipsingh@newindianexpress.com



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