Gujarat poll: Narhari Amin joins BJP, says Modi will be PM

Gujarat senior Congress leader and former deputy Chief Minister Narhari Amin, who quit the party after being denied a ticket to contest the upcoming assembly polls, joined the BJP today.

With barely few days left for the Gujarat elections, this comes as a huge blow to the Congress.

Amin, who quit the Congress along with his supporters, alleged that some Congress leaders don’t want seniors to enter the state assembly.

Welcoming Amin to the BJP, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi said, “I welcome my friend Narhari Amin and his supporters. Narhari Amin made a difficult decision and I know it’s not a small decision.”

“Forget aam-aadmi, Congress betrayed its own members by backstabbing them,” Modi said, while welcoming Amin.

Addressing a gathering with Modi, Amin said that Modi has made “Gujarat the No 1 state in the country.” He asked the crowd to forget the past and look forward to a new start. “Narendra Modi is set to become CM for a 3rd time. Forget 2012, look at 2014.”

Amin quit the Congress along with six supporters on 4 December, after being refused a party ticket for the state assembly polls. He wields sizable clout in the Patel community, and that will be a prize catch for BJP, given the challenge it is facing in Saurashtra region where former chief minister and Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) president Keshubhai Patel has come out all-guns-blazing against the Modi government.

Gujarat votes in two phases on 13 and 17 December. The results will be declared on 20 December.