Lok Sabha Elections: BJP Vadodara MP Ranjan Bhatt Withdraws From Poll Race Amid Backlash; Cites ‘Personal Reasons’

Ranjan Bhatt, the sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Vadodara, had been renominated by the party from the same constituency for the upcoming Gujarat Lok Sabha Elections 2024.

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: In an interesting development, BJP MP Ranjan Bhatt Friday announced he was withdrawing from the electoral race for “personal reasons”. Bhatt, the sitting BJP Lok Sabha MP from Vadodara, had been renominated by the party from the same constituency for the upcoming general elections.

“I, Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt, am unwilling to contest the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 due to my personal reasons,” the BJP leader announced on X.

Notably, Bhatt’s decision to pull out of the poll race comes amid backlash over her re-nomination from the Vadodara seat.

Earlier this week, banners criticising the BJP’s decision to to renominate her had come up at different spots in the city while some local BJP leaders had also expressed their displeasure over Bhatt’s nomination.

BJP national women’s wing vice president Jyotiben Pandya resigned from the party and all posts after Bhatt’s name was announced as a candidate for the third time from Vadodara.

Ranjanben Bhatt had won the 2014 by-election after Prime Minister Narendra Modi vacated the seat. She also won the Lok Sabha election in 2019, and was announced as BJP’s candidate for the upcoming poll.

Congress spokesperson Rohan Gupta resigns

In a related development, Congress national spokesperson Rohan Gupta quit the the grand-old party Friday, around a week-and-a-half after he pulled out from electoral race citing his father’s ill health.

Gupta cited Congress’ silence on alleged insults hurled at Sanatan Dharma by its INDIA bloc allies as one of the reasons behind his decision to quit the party.

Gupta, who had been fielded by Congress from the Ahmedabad East constituency, had withdrawn from the poll race last Monday citing his father’s ill health.

On Friday, Gupta said he wrote a letter to Mallikarjun Kharge, informing the Congress president of his decision to resign from the party’s primary membership and all other posts of the party c

“I hereby, resign from all posts and primary membership of the Congress party with immediate effect,” Gupta said in the letter he shared on X.

Rohan Gupta also cited  “humiliation” and “character assassination” by a senior Congress leader as one of his reasons to quit the party.

“I am deeply pained to inform you that constant humiliation and character assassination by one of the senior leaders connected to the Communications department of the party for last two years (which many senior party leaders are aware of) and now at the time of personal crisis has compelled me to take this decision,” he said in the letter to Kharge.

“His behaviour has caused serious mental agony and stress and has compelled me to resign from the party with a broken heart to protect my self-esteem,” he said.

(With PTI inputs)