Gujarat Congress MLA Kunwarji Bavaliya quits party, joins BJP and becomes minister

Kunwarji Bavaliya, a Congress MLA in Gujarat, ended his three-decade association with the party on Tuesday and moved to the BJP. Within hours the ruling party inducted him into Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s government as a cabinet minister.

A day of switching sides

Bavaliya emailed his resignation from the party to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and sent his resignation as a legislator to Rajendra Trivedi, the Speaker. Hours afterwards, the five-term MLA was formally welcomed into the BJP by state party president Jitu Vaghani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel. Governor OP Kohli then administered the oath of office and secrecy to him at the Raj Bhavan.

The move was not unexpected. For about a month Bavaliya had been openly criticising the way the Gujarat Congress was being run.

What comes next for him

Having given up his seat, Bavaliya will seek re-election as a BJP candidate from Jasdan, regarded as his stronghold, in a by-election expected within six months.

Soon after joining, the former school teacher attacked the Congress leadership and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah. “Rahul Gandhi’s leadership is breeding the politics of divide between castes and communities,” he said, adding that the BJP was pursuing a development agenda for everyone.

Background

In the 2017 Gujarat Assembly election, the BJP won 99 seats and the Congress 77, and Vijay Rupani was Chief Minister after that election.

See also: Indian National Congress, Gujarat Vidhan Sabha members

Originally published on 4 July 2018. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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