Jamnagar (Gujarat), Aug 17: Tension within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat came to the fore on Thursday as Rivaba Jadeja, the incumbent BJP legislator from Jamnagar, was seen delivering a stern verbal reprimand to senior party members.
Among those on the receiving end were Poonamben Madam, a two-term Lok Sabha MP, and Binaben Kothari, the city’s Mayor. The incident unfolded during a party function held to commemorate the ‘Mera Desh Meri Mitti’ programme.
In a widely-circulated video, Jadeja’s could be seen addressing the city Mayor and the Lok Sabha MP in an uneasy tone interlaced with frustration. Though the MP and the Mayor refrained from engaging in arguments, it was apparent that Poonamben Madam attempted to defuse the situation with Rivaba Jadeja, the wife of India cricketer Ravindra Jadeja.
Rivada, a first-time MLA, secured her position from the traditionally dominant urban seat of Jamnagar in the Assembly elections held a few months ago.
The incident has garnered substantial attention as the video capturing Rivaba’s public outburst was circulated widely across social media platforms.
In response, state BJP chief C.R. Paatil said that he would gather additional information in this matter.
When questioned about the incident, Mayor Binaben Kothari said, “It’s an internal matter of the party, and I prefer not to comment further on this.”
Rivaba had joined the BJP in 2019. On the other hand, Poonamben Madam has been serving as a BJP MP since 2014.
City Mayor Kothari is another notable party figure locally, holding affiliations with RSS-linked organisations.