The Congress in Gujarat suffered a setback on Monday, with party heavyweight Vitthal Radadia quitting his membership of the House, along with his son, Jayesh Radadia. He is likely to return to the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress suspended Mr. Vitthal Radadia for six years.
The father and son were elected on the Congress ticket from Saurashtra in the December 2012 elections.
Mr. Vitthal Radadia, a strong Patel leader and former Congress MP from Porbandar, was in the news in the run-up to the elections last year for threatening a toll plaza employee in central Gujarat with his licensed rifle.
He resigned as MP of Porbandar after having been elected as MLA from Dhoraji on the Congress ticket.
The senior Radadia was expecting the post of Leader of the Opposition or State Congress chief after the defeat of Pradesh Congress Committee president Arjun Modhwadia, Leader of the Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil and the former State party chief, Siddharth Patel, in the Assembly elections.
But while Mr. Modhwadia has been retained, Shankersinh Vaghela — mentor of Mr. Vitthal Radadia — was made Leader of the Opposition.
