Blow to BJP ahead of Gujarat election: Kodinar MLA Jetha Solanki quits party, says Dalits 'facing atrocities'

Ahmedabad: In a jolt to the ruling BJP in poll-bound Gujarat, its MLA from Kodinar seat, Jetha Solanki, on Saturday quit the party and resigned from all posts, alleging that Dalits have been facing “atrocities” under its rule. Solanki, who was one of the parliamentary secretaries appointed by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, resigned from the post. Parliamentary secretaries are considered equivalent to deputy ministers and are supposed to help the ministers. The Dalit leader also said that he was “unhappy” after being told by the party that he will not get a ticket this time. “I have resigned from the BJP, as an MLA and also as the parliamentary secretary. I have decided to quit as the party has stopped listening to my representations,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_4217059” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Solanki said the party conveyed to him that he would not be given a ticket this time. “Yes, the party told me that it would not give a ticket to me this time,” he said. “The party tried to convince me not to resign but I have decided not to take back my resignation,” he said. Referring to the Una Dalit atrocities case, Solanki said, “Under this BJP government, the Dalit community has faced numerous atrocities. The community is facing a difficult situation…During the Una incident, the Anandiben Patel government earlier took some steps, but after Vijay Rupani became the chief minister, his government has not taken any steps for the upliftment of Dalits,” Solanki said. He refused to answer whether he would fight the polls as an independent candidate or join any other party. Nobody from the BJP commented on Solanki’s resignation. The BJP on Friday released its first list of 70 candidates for the Assembly elections in Gujarat next month. The BJP is yet to declare its candidate for the Kodinar seat, where elections will be held in the first phase on 9 December, and the last date of filing of nomination forms is 21 November. Meanwhile, supporters of senior leader IK Jadeja created a ruckus at the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar as he was not given a ticket from Wadhwan seat. “Workers of the Wadhwan constituency are angry as the party, instead of giving ticket to me, has brought in an outsider,” Jadeja said. The BJP has given ticket to Dhanjibhai Patel, from the Wadhwan constituency.