Gulabsinh Chauhan, Congress'Controversial Candidate From Gujarat's Panchmahal (image@GULABSINHINC)

It was only in 2019, Gulabsinh Chauhan joined the Indian National Congress. He joined the grand old party after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party. In 2022, he contested in the Lunavada assembly constituency of Gujarat. Lunavada was the only seat won by the Congress during that election. This made Congress confident in Gulabsinh, and the party showed it through giving him ticket for the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Panchmahal constituency.

However, Gulabsinh”s candidature has caused ruckus in the party, as over 50 prominent members resigned citing the “Lacklustre poll campaign”. Dushyantsinh Chauhan is among those who protested Gulabsinh”s candidacy. The latter accused the former of “arm-twisting” the party into giving him the ticket. Though senior party members and Gulabsinh himself had met with Dushyantsinh, ensuring that he is pacified about the matter, the politician still left the party. Even though the party held a meeting to resolve the issue, reportedly, the matter still lies unresolved.

While congress members joining BJP has become a trend today, the resigned members are not joining any other party. “We will collectively decide regarding our future course of action”, said Dushyantsinh, as quoted by media.

The 63-year-old Gulabsinh will be contesting against BJP”s Rajlapsinh Jadav. Panchmahal is a pivotal political landscape of Gujarat. This eastern district of Gujarat is comprised of its five subdivisions namely, Godhra, Dahod. Halol, kalol, and Jhalod. The constituency plays a crucial role in Gujarat”s politics. The dominance of BJP was evident from in constituency from 2014, when Chauhan Prabhatsinh Pratsinh won the election over the margin of 5.08 lakh votes.