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Taluka panchayat polls: After member’s death, Congress holds key to ending AAP-BJP impasse in Bharuch
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Gunvant and seven other AAP candidates were taken to a resort in Maharashtra’s Shahada, which neighbours Netrang, on May 1, amid fears of horse trading by the BJP, the Dediapada MLA said, adding the elected members had complained that the BJP and its workers were pressuring them for support. The death of a winning taluka panchayat member has put both the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on edge in Bharuch’s Netrang, where the former had won the highest eight seats in the recent local body polls. As things stand, the AAP and the BJP now have seven winning candidates each for the 16-member body of the tribal district. As such, both parties are vying to get the support of the lone Congress winning candidate to break the deadlock, their leaders said.Gunvant Vasava, 62, who won from the Bilothi seat in Netrang on an AAP ticket, died at Surat’s Universal Hospital on Wednesday, days after he fell in a bathroom at a resort in Maharashtra’s Shahada on May 2, the AAP’s Gujarat working president Chaitar Vasava said. “The doctors told us that the cause of his (Gunvant’s) death was brain hemorrhage. This was the first time Gunvant was elected to the Netrang taluka panchayat. Our full support is with his two sons and wife,” Chaitar, who’s the AAP MLA from Dediapada, told The Indian Express. Gunvant and seven other AAP candidates were taken to a resort in Maharashtra’s Shahada, which neighbours Netrang, on May 1, amid fears of horse trading by the BJP, the Dediapada MLA said, adding the elected members had complained that the BJP and its workers were pressuring them for support. “After the election results (on April 28), BJP leaders had gone to Gunvant Vasava’s residence, where they met his son Narpat and asked him to get his father to support or join the BJP, and offered him several posts. After that, the eight winning members from the AAP stayed for a few days at our party leader’s home in Valia taluka. On May 1, they were taken to a resort in neighbouring Shahada,” the MLA said. Meanwhile, Netrang taluka BJP president Mansukh Vasava confirmed that the party had approached the Congress. “We are in talks with the Congress party to get the support of their lone elected member. We are ready to offer her a vice-president position or any committee member position, but not the president’s, in Netrang. We were unable to contact the AAP elected members, as they have been shifted to Shahada, Maharashtra, and are not allowed to answer calls from unknown numbers.”Story continues below this ad “Congress’s Nayna Rahul Prajapati, who won from the Netrang-2 seat, is key to both parties. We spoke with the Congress president, Rajendrasinh Rana, to seek support from the elected Congress member. The terms and conditions are yet to be discussed,” the AAP MLA said. Meanwhile, Netrang taluka Congress president Surendra Vasava said the party had received offers from both the AAP and the BJP. “We have asked Nayna not to talk to anybody or make any deal.” In the 2021 elections, the BJP won eight seats in Netrang, followed by the Bharatiya Tribal Party winning five, and the Congress three. On Thursday, several AAP leaders from Bharuch and Narmada, including Chaitar Vasava, attended Gunvant’s funeral rituals held at Bilothi. Kamal Saiyed is a senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, providing extensive, on-the-ground coverage from Surat and the broader South Gujarat region and the Union territories of Daman, Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli. With a reporting career at the publication spanning back to 2007, he has established himself as a high-authority voice on the industrial, social, and political pulse of one of India’s fastest-growing urban hubs. Expertise Industrial & Economic Beat: Based in the "Diamond City," Saiyed offers expert reporting on the diamond and textile industries. His work tracks global market shifts (such as De Beers production changes), local trade policies, and the socio-econom
ShimlaUpdated: May 7, 2026 11:59 AM IST If an elected pradhan, up-pradhan, or ward member is charged with drug-related offences during their tenure, they will be required to vacate their seat immediately.(Representative Photo) The Himachal Pradesh government Wednesday notified a landmark law that prohibits individuals involved in drug trafficking, specifically chitta (heroin) from contesting panchayat elections scheduled for later this month. Under the new law, any person facing trial where a court has framed charges under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, is barred from the electoral process. If an elected pradhan, up-pradhan, or ward member is charged with drug-related offences during their tenure, they will be required to vacate their seat immediately.This comes after Governor Kavinder Gupta Monday approved the Himachal Pradesh Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Act, 2026, which introduces stringent provisions to bar individuals involved in heroin cases from contesting the panchayat elections. About 3,754 Gram Panchayats of the 3,758 will go to polls in three phases on May 26, May 28 and May 30, respectively. Additional Secretary (Law) Vivek Jyoti told The Indian Express, “As per the new amendment, any person against whom charges under the NDPS Act, 1985, were framed, will not be eligible to contest the election. In case, if a person, who got elected, but later indulged in drug peddling and charges framed against him in the due course, that person will also be disqualified from his/her elected post.” He added that merely an FIR under the NDPS Act against a person can not be a base of declaring him ineligible from contesting the Gram Panchayat elections. “Chances to frame someone wrongly always remain. Earlier, there was provision that a convict can’t contest the election but with this notification, individual whom charges under NDPS Act were framed can also not contest the election.” As per the notification, Section 122-disqualification. (1) A person shall be disqualified for being chosen as an office bearer of a pnachayat, if he is under trail in a competent cort which has taken cognizance and has framed the charges against him of the offences under the Narcoic Drugs and Pscyhotropic Su bstances Act, 1985.” The notification further states, “(b) if he is disqualified by or under any law for the time being in force for the purpose of the election to the state legislature.”Story continues below this ad The bill was introduced during the Budget Session of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly and was passed after detailed deliberations by both treasury and opposition benches. The opposition cautioned the state government that the amendment is challengeable in the court of law because a person until he/she is convicted by the court can’t be presumed ‘guilty’. Former Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla had also raised similar concerns. The provision comes in response to the growing menace of “chitta” in the state, with cases being reported almost everyday from different regions of Himachal Pradesh. As per the government record, at least 66 people have died due to drug overdose in the state between 2023 and January 31, 2026. The figures indicate a growing concern over substance abuse in the state, even as the government steps up enforcement and awareness measures. Of the total deaths, eight were reported in 2023, followed by 31 in 2024 and 27 in 2025. However, no cases of death due to drug overdose were reported in January 2026. A total of 5,563 people were arrested in 6,246 cases related to narcotics have been registered in the state between January 2023 and January, 2026. Out of 5563 suspects, 5298 suspects have been given bails from the various courts. Meanwhile, in a related development, the Governor has also approved changes to the quorum requirements for Gram Sabha meetings. As per the new provision, the presence of at least one-tenth (1/10) of the total registered voters of a Panchayat will now be mandat
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