Within days, nearly 300 Congress members from the state’s Saurashtra region followed suit. The BJP is hoping the induction of top Congress leaders would help it regain lost ground in Saurashtra, which has seven out of Gujarat’s 26 Lok Sabha seats. The BJP swept the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in its strongholds like Gujarat, where it won all 26 seats, to return to power at the Centre. The Congress had given a tough fight to the BJP in 2017 assembly elections and won 77 seats in the 182-member assembly. Gujarat Congress president Amit Chavda brushed aside the impact the desertions may have on the Congress.

Source: Hindustan Times April 20, 2019 01:42 UTC