Just over a year after joining BJP, former Gujarat MLA Mahesh Vasava quits; slams RSS ideology

Ahmedabad: Tribal leader and former Gujarat MLA Mahesh Vasava on Monday quit the BJP, the move coming just over a year after he joined the ruling party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

In an open letter to BJP state president CR Paatil, Vasava, who is son of veteran tribal leader Chhotu Vasava, said it was evident that the Constitution was not being followed in the country.

In the letter, which he posted on social media, he said tribals, OBCs, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and the poor will "walk together and fight together to end the RSS-BJP ideology".

Vasava said he was ready for a long fight and urged people to remain united.

"The BJP has lied about the development of Gujarat. I do not intend to join any other party," he said after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Mahesh Vasava was elected to the Gujarat assembly from Dediapada in 2012 and 2017. The seat was won by Aam Aadmi Party's Chaitar Vasava in 2022.

Mahesh Vasava had joined the BJP on March 11, 2024 at a function at the party's state headquarters where he heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Incidentally, his father Chhotu Vasava had opposed his decision at the time, had called him naïve and accused the BJP of misleading him.

In 2022 assembly election, he was in the fray as an independent candidate from ST-reserved Jhagadia constituency but withdrew his nomination in support of his father, who too was contesting as an independent, having won the seat seven times in the past.

Chhotu Vasava lost from Jhagadia.