Shankersinh Vaghela

AHMEDABAD: Shankersinh Vaghela , former Congress leader who left the party recently, on Tuesday launched a third front, ‘Jan Vikalp’, along with 13 MLAs. The former chief minister and leader of opposition in the 13th Gujarat assembly claimed that ‘Jan Vikalp’ was formed by a group of youths. Vaghela even announced that Jan Vikalp will attempt to contest on all 182 seats in the upcoming assembly elections and will be a front and will not be a political party with a high command.

“There is a myth that a third front cannot be successful in Gujarat,” Vaghela said. “If Aam Aadami Party can be successful in Delhi, why can't Jan Vikalp be successful in Gujarat?"

However, former Rajasthan chief minister and Congress’s Gujarat in-charge Ashok Gehlot dismissed Shankersinh Vaghela’s latest third front, ‘Jan Vikalpa’, as the B-team of the BJP. Gehlot also alleged that NCP leader Praful Patel was also acting as the C-team of BJP. Gehlot was speaking on Tuesday at a press conference organised in Gujarat Congress’s office in Ahmedabad.

Meanwhile, Vaghela reiterated that while he was not going to contest the elections, a group of youths had approached him with a survey. The survey results revealed that people did not want to vote for the BJP or the Congress but wanted a third front led by him. Hence he had decided to support the group, he said.

Vaghela who had attacked the Congress high command for not paying attention to the issues raised by him and other MLAs, said: “The Congress will never win the elections in Gujarat. It is match-fixing between the Congress and BJP which was worked out during the Rajya Sabha elections. It is going to be a direct fight between the BJP and Jan Vikalp as Congress is nowhere in the picture,” Vaghela said. He however, was open to the idea of being a candidate for chief minister post if the ‘Jan Vikalp’ was voted to power.

“Jan Vikalp will be the right choice for those who do not want to vote either for the BJP or the Congress,” Vaghela said. He said the focus of Jan Vikalp will be on two major concerns — unemployment and women’s issues.

“Women are unhappy as they are the most exploited,” he said.

“The Congress is not going to win the 2017 polls. Now it will be a direct fight between the BJP and Jan Vikalp,” said Vaghela.

Gehlot, however, scoffed at Vaghela’s ambitions and said that the latter had lost all credibility. dismissed Shankersinh Vaghela’s latest third front, ‘Jan Vikalpa’, as the B-team of the BJP

Gehlot also alleged that NCP leader Praful Patel had been exposed. “The NCP is the C-team of the BJP,” he said. “But nothing will work this time. People have made up their mind against the BJP.”



In Video: Vaghela launches Jan Vikalp with 13 MLAs