Gandhinagar: OBC leader Alpesh Thakore, who joined the Congress before the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections, quit the party in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections on Wednesday.
Alpesh, who shot to limelight as head of the Gujarat Kshatriya-Thakore Sena which he himself had floated, said that he had chosen to quit under directions of his organisation which felt that the Congress had ignored their set-up and he could not compromise on his self-respect.
“Wherever my community’s interests are ignored and a sense of betrayal is felt, I must react, therefore, I am resigning from all posts in the party,” he stated in a letter addressed to Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda. Chavda said that the language used by Alpesh in his resignation letter was saddening.
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“Not only was Alpesh given a ticket immediately after he joined the party but in the period thereafter he had been given important responsibilities both in the state as well as the national level. He was not only elevated to the post of a secretary of the AICC but also made joint secretary incharge of a key state like Bihar besides being the convenor of the state campaign committee and holding many other posts.” he added.
The fact is that Alpesh’s attempt at riding two horses had made him suspect in both camps. Late last year, he had opened negotiations to join BJP and wanted a cabinet berth for himself. However, the matter leaked out and following strong opposition from OBC leaders within the BJP, the idea was dropped. Alpesh himself had admitted that he was toying with the idea of joining BJP but had given it up on second thoughts.
Highly placed sources said that Alpesh first sought Lok Sabha tickets for his followers and then for himself from Patan, Sabarkantha and Banaskantha. However, with Alpesh in the suspect list, the ticket was given to old warhorse Jagdish Thakore, a former MP from the same constituency.
