Gujarat Congress MLA gets cabinet berth hours after joining BJP

Jawahar Chavda, the Congress MLA who quit the grand old party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, was made a cabinet minister on Saturday.

Two other ministers were also inducted into the government.

Chavda, the MLA from Manavadar assembly seat, quit the Congress and joined the BJP late on Friday.

As a reward, Chavda has been given the rank of a cabinet minister in the BJP government, which has been ruling Gujarat for over two decades. 

Chavda has been winning on the Congress seat in the constituency for the last five terms straight.

Along with Chavda, two others were inducted as ministers of state in the government -- Yogesh Bhai Narayan Bhai Patel and Dharmendrasinh Meroobha Jadeja.

All were inducted during a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan, where they took the oath in the presence of Governor O.P. Kohli

"They can assume the charges as and when they like. We have been welcoming all those leaders who are influenced by the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and have opted to join the BJP," said Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel.

The ministers were yet to be assigned any portfolios, but it is being speculated that the decision will follow soon. 

The induction of Chavda into the cabinet has not only shaken the Congress, but it has also started a wave of dissent in the BJP as well. 

Many senior BJP members were disgruntled. Earlier, Kunwarji Bawalia, an MLA from Jasdan, was also given a cabinet rank in the government, within hours of defecting from the Congress. - IANS