Supporters in tow, Vithal Radadiya, son join BJP, get a pat from Narendra Modi

SAURASHTRA strongman Vithal Radadiya on Friday joined the ruling BJP along with son Jayesh and several supporters in the presence of Chief Minister Narendra Modi at a function at Dhoraji. Both father and son had recently resigned as Congress MLAs from Dhoraji and Jetpur, respectively.

Before winning the Dhoraji Assembly seat in the December 2012 polls, Radadiya was the Congress MP from Porbandar and had played a key role in organising Congress chief Sonia Gandhi's election rally in Saurashtra.

An upbeat Modi, after welcoming Radadiya and his 70-odd supporters into the BJP, hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that instead of talking about his future plans, he was indulging in 'shero sharyari' to get media coverage.

Welcoming the former MP, Modi said, "Never in the history of the BJP people have joined the party together in such a large number. Radadiya is a very different personality. He has the courage to swim against the tide. His son Jayesh is calm and composed."

Radadiya returns to the BJP after a gap of 17 years, mostly spent in the Congress. He had landed in a row just before the December 2012 Assembly polls when he was caught on CCTV camera brandishing a gun at a toll booth near Vadodara. Radadiya was said to be unhappy in Congress after first being denied a ministerial berth at the Centre and then being ignored for the post of Congress Legislature Party leader in the Assembly despite the fact that both he and his son had won whereas top state Congress leaders like Arjun Modhwadia and Shaktisinh Gohil were defeated.

Others who joined the BJP on Friday include Rajkot district Congress president Gordhan Dhameliya, Rajkot District Dairy chairman Govind Ranparia and five directors from Rajkot District Cooperative Bank.

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