Shankersinh Vaghela on Tuesday offered himself as a mediator for anti-BJP forces before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. (File) Shankersinh Vaghela on Tuesday offered himself as a mediator for anti-BJP forces before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. (File) Claiming that the anti-Congress stance he took before the Rajya Sabha and state assembly elections of 2017 were a “small experiment”, former chief minister of Gujarat Shankersinh Vaghela on Tuesday offered himself as a mediator for anti-BJP forces before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and said he would “without doubt” support the Congress in Gujarat next year. “I want to see a non-BJP PM after the 2019 polls,” said Vaghela who felt that a third front in Gujarat or elsewhere in the country will divide anti-BJP votes. Vaghela, who bitterly exited the Congress in July 2017 and had hobnobbed with the BJP in Gujarat, on Tuesday met his followers at his residence at Gandhinagar. After the meeting, he told mediapersons that those unhappy with Congress and BJP in Gujarat might consider joining the NCP. “The idea is not to allow a split in anti-BJP votes during the upcoming polls.. it should not even happen by mistake. This should be underlined. Rahul Gandhi himself has talked about sacrificing PM’s post. What I say in Gujarat, is that there should not be any division (of anti-BJP votes),” he said. When quizzed about his change in his political stance, Vaghela — who had openly declared that he had voted against Congress Rajya Sabha candidate Ahmed Patel in August 2017 polls and had later aligned with a third political front before the state assembly elections in December 2017— said, “Nothing is permanent in politics.” Asked if he will support the Congress party in upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Gujarat, Vaghela said, “Without doubt. There is no question about it.” He said he had recently met Congress president Rahul Gandhi but also made it clear that he was not joining the Congress or the NCP. “Please do not be under any illusion that I will join NCP or Congress as a member,” he quipped, adding that he will ensure that there is no difference between political units that are anti-BJP. Giving example of how parties with two extreme ideologies — BJP and Left Parties — had given support to the VP Singh government in the past, Vaghela said, “Everything is possible in politics.” Claiming that regional parties were calling the shots in many states, Vaghela said there was “lack of coordination” between these parties which were mostly opposed to the BJP. Giving the example of Kerala and West Bengal, Vaghela said political parties like Congress, Left parties and TMC which were opposed to BJP were also at war with each other in these states. “If there is a difference between these parties, who will resolve it. A third entity, who has no personal interest, can only do so,” he said, adding that he was yet to have any formal conversation with regional parties in this regard. “I am trying on my own… It is based on the feelings of people across the country,” he said about his moves targetted at the Lok Sabha polls. Attacking the Modi government over the rising costs of fuel, Vaghela said the present government has only marketed itself in the past 4.5 years through various advertisments, festivals and fairs. “This is a government which has been against farmers, labourers and agriculture,” he said. Must Watch For all the latest Ahmedabad News, download Indian Express App

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