Will Gujarat see Bapu’s ghar wapasi in Congress before 2022 elections?

With the elections on the horizon for the state of Gujarat, huge political shifts are already visible; be it closed-door negotiations, party members being attacked in the middle of their campaigning, or even former party members wanting to pull a ‘ghar wapsi’. Every election, there are a few ‘usual suspects’ who make it to the news since their decisions have huge ramifications on the political climate of the state. Shankersinh Vaghela is one such leader. Over the course of the last few weeks, Vaghela (or Bapu, as he is referred to in the state by his followers) has had at least five closed door meetings with another tall leader of the state, and the former president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC), Bharatsinh Solanki. 

Bapu and Solanki

According to the sources, the meetings have been about negotiations going on between Bapu and Solanki on how and when the former can join the GPCC again and be at the helm of affairs in the next elections for the party. Vaghela, who was the Leader of Opposition for the Gujarat Legislative Assembly till 2017, had resigned from the party and had publicly lashed out against the internal conflicts that the party faces. In a rally on his birthday in July 2017, he had addressed hundreds of his followers by saying that no one in the party wanted to do anything for the people and that during the elections, the leaders were too busy fighting amongst each other to actually fight the BJP. Since then, Vaghela has started his own party in 2017, dissolved that and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and started another party after he quit from NCP as well. 

Interestingly, when he had quit the Congress party in 2017, there were several MLAs who had walked out with him in solidarity and had subsequently then joined the BJP. Now with Vaghela at the negotiating table with the former GPCC president and a leader who has significant sway on the party leadership, he has offered that he will bring several MLAs along with him to the Congress. “We have offered to the Congress. We know that it is time to keep the infighting aside and actually work and fight together. This is the time to do something and make a foolproof plan. However, Bapu comes with his own set of demands and let’s see if the party is willing to take his advice,” a leader close to Vaghela told Republic. 

In the meantime, Solanki has also been negotiating with the Congress high command to give him a significant post in the party so that he can be at the helm of affairs and make decisions. Since one loss after the other, starting from the 2017 elections’ loss, the current leader of the opposition, Paresh Dhanani and the GPCC president, Amit Chavda have been trying to tender their resignations to the Delhi high command of the party but it has been rejected every time. This time, however, since the Gujarat elections are on the horizon, Delhi's high command is keen on changing the local leadership. 

Is it, water under the bridge? 

While Vaghela has put his cards on the table and has expressed his willingness to come on board to the congress leaders,  the leadership might be less than forgiving. According to sources, while addressing a meeting in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi had been saying that they will be more than welcoming for people who had left Congress, but, Shankersinh Vaghela will not be welcomed anymore in the party. Other than just making statements and airing Congress’ dirty laundry in public, Vaghela had also cross voted against Ahmed Patel in the controversial Rajya Sabha Elections of 2017. “We will see how this will work. Bapu comes with a lot of baggage, and a lot of leaders of the party don’t trust him anymore and are a little tired of his arm-twisting tactics in the party. Too many chips are in the air, a lot will depend upon the state in charge who will then decide upon the President and the Leader of Opposition,” a senior Congress leader of state said.