After Vadodara MP, BJP candidate from Sabarkantha withdraws from Lok Sabha race
Bhikhaji Thakor, who was fielded by the BJP from the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat, announced his decision to withdraw from the race through a social media post on Saturday
Ahmedabad: Hours after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) Ranjan Bhatt, who was fielded by the party to contest for the third time from the Vadodara Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat, announced her decision to withdraw her candidacy for the upcoming elections on Saturday, another party candidate, Bhikhaji Thakor, has also opted out of the 2024 election race citing personal reasons.
Thakor, who was fielded by the party from the Sabarkantha Lok Sabha seat, announced his decision through a social media post on Saturday. His withdrawal comes after a controversy over his surname and caste identity. The BJP had replaced its two-term representative Dipsinh Rathod with Bhikhaji Thakor for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Thakor’s nomination had led to a dispute over his surname, with social media posts alleging that he previously used ‘Damor’. This sparked debates among Kshatriya (Thakor) voters. Thakor addressed the issue at a press conference, reaffirming his Thakor identity and highlighting his involvement with the BJP’s OBC front. He attributed concerns to Opposition propaganda and clarified the demographics in the region.
The Thakor community, classified as OBC, is prominent in northern and central Gujarat, primarily engaged in agriculture, but diversified into politics, business, and education.
A BJP official confirmed Bhatt’s and Thakor’s decisions to withdraw and said that the party will announce new candidates soon.
Earlier in the morning, Ranjan Bhatt, a two-time MP, announced on social media that she had decided not to contest in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections due to personal reasons. Her decision came within days after a poster campaign erupted over her nomination in Vadodara with some of them suggesting a lack of interest from the Gujarat BJP leadership towards the city. Some of the posters had said, “Modi tere se ber nahin, Ranjan teri kher nahi (roughly translated as “Modi, we don’t have any differences with you, but Ranjan, we will not spare you”) and “Will the BJP, so high on success, put up anybody as a candidate?”
The poster campaign came soon after BJP MLA from Savli seat in Vadodara district put out his resignation letter on social media after sending it by email to Assembly speaker Shankar Chaudhary. He later withdrew his resignation after meeting BJP Gujarat chief C R Patil.
On March 14, the BJP suspended Dr. Jyotiben Pandya, the vice president of its national women’s wing, from all positions within the party.
Pandya had questioned Bhatt’ contributions to Vadodara’s development, juxtaposing it with the substantial progress evident in Ahmedabad and Surat.
Earlier this week, Congress candidate Rohan Gupta withdrew his candidature from the Ahmedabad East seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. On Friday, the national spokesperson and former social media head of the Congress party, announced his resignation from all party positions, citing “constant humiliation” and “character assassination” by a senior leader connected with the party’s communication department.