In what is supposed to be a major blow to the Congress in Gujarat, one of its most important leaders, Shankarsinh Vaghela, announced he was quitting the party. The dramatic announcement by Vaghela, a former RSS volunteer, came at an event organised to celebrate his 77th birthday.
The announcement also comes a day after the disunity in the state Congress came out in the open, when it transpired that at least eight of its 57 MLAs had not voted for the joint opposition's presidential candidate Meira Kumar.
Vaghela, currently the leader of the opposition in the Assembly, had quit BJP over 20 years ago and formed Rashtriya Janata Party. He headed the RJP government in 1996 before merging his party with the Congress.
Vaghela's decision to quit the Congress months ahead of the election, likely in November-December, would be a cause of concern for the party, which has been out of power in the state. He enjoys considerable support in North Gujarat.
(with inputs from PTI)
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