How do you raise the bar when you have 156 of the 182 assembly seats and all the Lok Sabha seats in a state? Gujarat BJP president C.R. Paatil seemed to have found H the answer. He has been exhorting the rank and file to retain all 26 seats in next year's general election while winning with a margin of five lakh votes in every seat. In light of the overwhelming support from the electorate in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, everything seemed perfect for the party, till recently.
Over the last two months, the Gujarat BJP has been dealing with corruption charges, suspensions, resignations and even arrests. The latest came as a shocker-Pradipsinh Vaghela's resignation. The 43-year-old was one of the most influential party general secretaries. While the party has said that he resigned because of personal reasons, the grapevine has it that he was asked to leave following allegations of corruption in land deals and his alleged involvement in matters pertaining to the Gujarat University.
This story is from the August 20, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
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This story is from the August 20, 2023 edition of THE WEEK India.
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