Ahmedabad
Short of forming a political party, former Chief Minister and Congress rebel Shankarsinh Vaghela today announced support for “Jan Vikalp” which he claimed would act as the third front against both the BJP and the Congress in the coming elections to the Gujarat Assembly.

He said, “The people of Gujarat are fed up with both these parties and are looking for an alternative which Jan Vikalp (JV) will provide.”

Vaghela claimed it was only a “myth” spread by these two parties that the third front never succeeded in Gujarat. The Swatantra Party in the past and former Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel’s Janata Dal (Gujarat) were successful third fronts.

Vaghela said people would be JV’s ‘high command’ and take all the decisions. He said JV would contest all 182 seats in the coming Assembly elections, stressing people would select the candidates and the only criteria would be that the person must be rooted to the ground and a local.

“We are planning for not just 2017 polls but beyond that too,” the 77-year old Vaghela said, adding he himself would not contest the elections.

Jan Vikalp Morcha was formed by Parthesh Patel, online media adviser to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the past and to Vaghela till recently. Just before the recent Rajya Sabha polls, Vaghela had snapped ties with the Congress in July after remaining some two decades in the party. He had rebelled against the BJP in 1995 and later formed his own Rashtriya Janata Party, which subsequently merged with the Congress.

Vaghela whose RJP had failed to make much dent as the third force, this time was treading cautiously. “Jan Vikalp is just a political front and not a political party,” he insisted.

Vaghela said Jan Vikalp would work as an “alternative force” to garner public anger against the ruling BJP and “ineffective” Congress. “Even AAP, NCP or JD(U) or anyone who is in sync with our ideology is welcome to join us. We will support them too.”

Vaghela said the front “Jan Vikalp” was floated by some city-based “professionals”, who approached him to provide an alternative to the ruling BJP and the Congress in Gujarat, and claimed a number of people wanted to see him as the chief minister.

Vaghela’s announcement drew instant flaks from the BJP, the Congress and even the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti and the OBC Manch. While the BJP said Vaghela and his new front would be no threat to the ruling party, the Congress in-charge of the state affairs Ashok Gehlot said Vaghela had lost his credibility.