Vaghela’s RJP merges with Cong
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 1 — The Rashtriya Janata Party led by former Gujarat Chief Minister, Shankarsinh Vaghela today merged with the Congress. The merger, which was announced by Mr Madhavrao Scindia, AICC General Secretary in charge of the party affairs in the state, at the party headquarters at a press conference was attended by Mr Vaghela and his colleagues.

A former BJP rebel, Mr Vaghela headed the RJP government in Gujarat in 1996 with the Congress supporting it from the outside.While he poured scorn at the BJP and its leadership, Mr Vaghela said the primary reason for the merger of his party was that it shared the votebank with the Congress.“We do not want any division of votes and if by joining hands we can defeat the BJP, it is better,’’ Mr Vaghela said at the press briefing.With the merger, the strength of the Congress goes up to 60 in the 182-member Gujarat Legislative Assembly.

The Congress had a strength of 54. The RJP has four MLAs while two from the Janata Dal who split from the parent party are also with the Congress. The ruling BJP has 116 MLAs with four independents.Mr Vaghela said he was confident that in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, the Congress would turn the tables on the BJP and bag 19 of the 26 seats.

In the dissolved Lok Sabha the BJP had 19 and the Congress seven MPs.A formal merger of the party would take place at a public rally in Gujarat on July 17. The Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, is scheduled to address the meeting, it was announced.Mr Vaghela termed the BJP as a party of hypocrites and said its leader could go to any extent to stay in power.

To a question as to why he associated himself with the party if the conduct of its leaders was not acceptable to him, Mr Vaghela said that he was with the BJP as long as it was not in power.Mr Vaghela said now he had no links with the RSS.Asked if there were any preconditions for the merger, Mr Vaghela said the merger was unconditional.

However, he said if the party gave him a choice he would prefer to contest against the Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani from Gandhinagar, a constituency he once represented in the Lok Sabha.Prior to the announcement, the RJP leader and his party members met Mrs Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence.

Among those present at the AICC briefing were the Gujarat PCC Chief, Mr C D Patel, the CLP leader, Mr Amarsingh Chaudhary and AICC Treasurer, Ahmed Patel. Mr Scindia said former Gujarat Chief Minister, Madhavsinh Solanki and Mr Chhabildas Mehta were consulted along with other senior leaders and they, too, had supported the merger.