BJP seems to be losing ground in local bodies. Within days of losing Mahuva and Kapadvanj municipalities, the party lost power in Kalol municipality of Gandhinagar on Monday when On Monday, just before the election for the posts of president and vicepresident was to be held in Kalol municipality, four BJP councilors defected to Congress, giving it the majority in the local body. In turn, the party announced support to one of them as the municipality president. With this, BJP’s 18-year reign in Kalol municipality has been halted.In the elections held in 2016, BJP had wrested 24 out of total 44 seats while the remaining went to Congress. Anandiben Patel was made the president then. With the two-and-half-year term of the incumbent body nearing an end, an election was scheduled on Monday at 4 pm. However, everyone was shocked when four of its councilors— Timir Jaiswal, Manjula Vajir, Jashoda Raval and Ramila Parmar—announced their decision to join Congress.Soon after, Jaiswal staked claim to the post of president, supported by the party. Congress councilor Prakash Vargade was appointed as the vice-president.The four BJP councilors are said to have shifted loyalty due to dissatisfaction and infighting within the party. While the Congress is celebrating its win, for BJP the loss of Kalol is a major one. It is considered to be the gateway to north Gujarat. BJP sources say, “Kalol town is considered the traditional bastion of BJP and the party has been in power here for almost two decades despite election of Congress MLAs in last three terms. The Congress supported the candidate who wanted to become the president. We will now take necessary action against them.”In the recent past, the BJP had toppled Congress bodies at Gandhinagar, Dehgam and Mansa taluka panchayats by getting their councillors within their fold. “The people of Kalol have been facing difficulties in the BJP rule. We had announced several programmes to redress their problems. The people do not support BJP because there is no development work,” said Suryasinh Dabhi, president of the Gandhianagar district Congress.Similar stories in Kapadvanj and Mahuva The saffron party had won 13 out of 26 seats of Kapadvanj municipality in 2016, while Congress could win just one seat. The remaining 12 went to independents.However, in the elections on June 7 this year, eight BJP councilors drew an alliance with the independents and made their body and chose Pragnesh Soni, a BJP candidate, as their president.The defection in this case was rooted in the dissatisfaction of three councilors who had been suspended for supporting Bimal Shah, the former minister who had quit the party as he had not been given a ticket in 2017 Assembly polls. When the election was held last week, the three councilors took along five others and formed their own body. When contacted, BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya said, “The party will get a report from the district unit and take necessary action against those who have violated the party’s mandate.”In Mahuva in Bhavnagar district, Congress wrested power from the saffron party earlier this month. The BJP had won 23 of 36 municipality seats in Mahuva municipality in 2016 .

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