Gujarat: BJP suspends three over filing papers against party nominees

While Bhimani is the sitting BJP councillor from Ward No. 9 of Morbi municipality, Unava is vice-president of Bagasara town unit of the saffron party. Ranva is the president of Scheduled Caste cell in BJP’s Amreli district unit.

While Bhimani has filed her nomination papers as an Independent for by-election to Morbi Assembly constituency, Unava has got his candidature registered for bypoll to Dhari Assembly seat in Amreli district. Ranva, on the other hand, has got his candidature registered for bypoll to Gadhda seat in Botad district.

Polling to these three seats and five others in the state is scheduled on November 3 and counting of votes will take place on November 10.

The bypolls to these seats have been warranted due to resignations of Congress MLAs Brijesh Merja from Morbi, JV Kakadiya from Dhari and Pravin Maru from Gadha in the run up to the Rajya Sabha election in June this year.

Merja and Kakadiya have since defected to the BJP and the party has given them mandate to fight the bypoll to Morbi and Dhari seats respectively. Former minister Atmaram Parmar is BJP candidate for Gadhda seat.

However, Bhimani, Unava and Ranva have also thrown their hats in the ring in open defiance of the BJP mandate. While Unava has filed his nomination papers as a candidate of the Vyavastha Parivartan Party, Bhimani and Ranva have entered the bypoll as Independents.

This is second instance when Paatil, after taking over as the BJP chief in August this year, has taken swift action against those party workers who have refused to toe the party line. Days after taking over as the party chief, Paatil had ordered suspension of a big number of BJP councillors in Rapar and Upleta municipalities in Kutch and Rajkot district respectively for defying party mandate for election to posts of president and vice-presidents in the twin civic bodies even though the BJP lost power in both the civic bodies due to the rebellion.