Thakor Sena splits after Alpesh quits Congress

Manas Dasgupta
Ahmedabad, April 11

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The resignation from the Congress by its three members of the Gujarat Assembly, including the young leader Alpesh Thakor, has split the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena with a section of the Thakor community leaders deciding to stay on with the Congress. 

While a senior Thakor Sena leader Ramji Thakor, who claimed to be in the 11-member “core committee” of the Sena, claimed that Alpesh’s decision to quit the Congress was his “own,” two other Congress MLAs Geniben Thakor and Chandanji Thakor severed ties with Alpesh and accused the young leader of holding the entire Thakor community at ransom for his “personal ambitions.”

Ramji Thakor claimed that Alpesh never convened a meeting of the “core committee” as he claimed and decided to quit the Congress after consulting a handful of his friends. “The Thakor community was not unhappy with the Congress and will continue to support the party,” he said. 

Even Bharatji Thakor, one of the three MLAs to resign from the Congress yesterday, said he would help the Congress in the elections if called by the party. One of the strong communities among the Other Backward Classes and spread almost all over the state, Thakors have decisive say on many seats and can tilt the balance in the north Gujarat seats. 

Several other Thakor leaders, including one of the Sena vice-presidents, Gaganji Thakor, till recently close aides of Alpesh, appeared on the dais with Patan Congress candidate Jagdish Thakor and pledged to work for his victory. Ramji Thakor, Geniben Thakor and several other leaders of the community criticised Alpesh for his “hasty” decision refuted his claim that the Thakors had only suffered “insult, humiliation and betrayal” in the Congress. Alpesh, however, today addressed an election meeting in favour of Swaroopji Thakor contesting as an independent against the Congress nominee for the Banaskantha seat.