Gujarat: AAP MLA Bhupat Bhayani resgins, hints at joining BJP
Dec 14, 2023
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], December 14 : In a major blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Bhupat Bhayani, the party's MLA from Gujarat's Visavadar, resigned from all posts within the party and the state legislative assembly.
Speaking to reporters after tendering his resignation on Wednesday, Bhayani said that he wants to serve the public and was impressed by how Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken the country to new heights through his work.
"I want to serve the public. Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, India's stature has grown throughout the world. I am influenced by how Narendra Modi has taken the country to new heights," Bhayani said.
The former MLA also added that he is a nationalist, and he will not be able to serve the country by being in the AAP.
"Since I am a nationalist, I will not be able to serve the country by being in the Aam Aadmi Party. So I resigned from all posts in the Aam Aadmi Party and the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha," he said.
Replying to a question by a reporter about whether AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is not a nationalist, Bhayani said, "Everyone is a nationalist. However, I did not get a suitable platform to work the way I wanted to in the Aam Aadmi Party. Hence, I resigned."
In another reply to a question by a reporter on when he would be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the former AAP MLA said, "Only time will tell...I may join them (BJP)".
On how many more MLAs will be resigning from the Aam Aadmi Party he said, "I do not know."
Bhayani was one of the five AAP MLAs who were elected from Arvind Kejriwal's party in the Gujarat Assembly elections. He won by a margin of 7,063 votes in the Visavadar constituency.
While Bhayani got 65675 votes, BJP candidate Harshad Kumar Ribadiya Ribadiya bagged 58,771 votes.
Last year, in December, Bhayani indicated that he may join the BJP if it benefits farmers and people in his constituency.
"I have been associated with the BJP since 2001. And I left the BJP two years ago. I have grown up with the ideology of RSS since childhood so my line of thinking is clear. Right now I am not going to join BJP. I will talk to people of my constituency and then take a decision," Bhayani said
"I have no plan to join BJP, but if it benefits farmers and people of my area, I may join, but that too after consulting people," he added.
