Why BJP gives a long lease to Gujarat in-house dissenter Mansukh Vasava

In a party known for its strict discipline, the BJP’s Bharuch MP Mansukh Vasava often stands out, sometimes virtually sounding like an Opposition leader.

Over the past month alone, the seven-term MP has publicly suggested that tribals are safer consuming traditional mahua liquor than alcohol, accused policemen and local politicians of facilitating liquor smuggling in Gujarat, and backed a dharna by a tribal BJP MLA against the party’s own district leadership.

Few state BJP leaders have embarrassed their own government as frequently as Mansukh. Yet, while leaders with lesser stature have faced swift organisational action for far milder acts of dissent, he continues to enjoy a remarkable degree of freedom.

The reason lies beyond controversies and party discipline. In Gujarat’s tribal heartland, the BJP believes Mansukh is too important to lose.

The seven-term Lok Sabha MP from the non-reserved Bharuch seat is widely regarded as the tallest BJP leader in South Gujarat’s tribal politics, a region that remains personality-driven. In the calculus of tribal politics — now increasingly influenced by the rise of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Chaitar Vasava — Mansukh has emerged as the BJP’s most important shield against an electoral challenge it no longer dismisses.

Chaitar Vasava, a charismatic young leader who cut his political teeth in the now-fragmented Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) led by Chhotubhai Vasava, sent shockwaves through the BJP during the 2022 Assembly elections. Contesting his maiden election, he won the Dediapada seat by more than one lakh votes. Since then, his stature among tribal voters has only grown, particularly in Bharuch and Narmada districts — home to the Statue of Unity and among the BJP’s most politically sensitive tribal regions.

Leaders familiar with the area point out that voters in the tribal belt often identify more strongly with individual leaders than with political parties. “In Bharuch and Narmada, electoral loyalty is built through decades of personal relationships, local interventions and visibility on community issues. Few BJP leaders have cultivated that network as successfully as Mansukh,” said a BJP leader. “At present, he is the only BJP leader who can take on Chaitar Vasava. Even Chaitar avoids personal attacks on him because Mansukh carries the image of a selfless and brutally candid leader.”

Recurring dissent

Mansukh’s recent remarks are part of a long-running pattern of conduct that would have proved politically costly for most others in the party.

Days before his June 6 speech suggesting tribals should opt for mahua instead of “English” liquor if alcohol was unavoidable, Vasava wrote to Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi on May 22, accusing local politicians and police personnel in Narmada district of enabling an extensive liquor smuggling and gambling network.

“There is a tradition of offering locally brewed mahua to the tribal deity at Dev Mogra temple. In some tribal rituals, this brew is essential. My comments were aimed at recognising that such customs cannot be completely done away with. So wherever alcohol is considered necessary, they should choose mahua. I did not encourage them to take up alcohol,” Mansukh told The Indian Express.

However, Mansukh’s criticism has frequently been directed at the party leadership too. He was openly critical of former Gujarat BJP president C R Paatil over the party’s growing dependence on the Congress and AAP defectors, many of whom were subsequently rewarded with organisational positions. He has also publicly criticised local police for removing street vendors in Bharuch, attacked the medical superintendent of Rajpipla Civil Hospital over alleged mismanagement, and repeatedly raised concerns about government school teachers reporting to work in an “inebriated” state.

In December 2024, he took to social media to oppose the appointment of Sandeep Patel as BJP’s Jhagadia taluka president, saying that Patel’s “mindset did not match the party ideology of nationalism”.

When the BJP leadership was preparing its candidate list for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, an influential lobby within the party sought to enforce the organisation’s informal “no-repeat” principle. Given Mansukh’s age and track record of dissent, the state leadership initially considered fielding a new, non-tribal candidate from Bharuch. Political realities, however, quickly altered those plans.

The Opposition INDIA alliance eventually fielded Chaitar Vasava as its joint candidate, prompting the BJP to retain Mansukh.

BJP bastion

Although Bharuch is a non-reserved constituency, the BJP has won it continuously since 1989 through tribal leaders. First was Chandu Deshmukh, who defeated Congress heavyweight Ahmed Patel. Mansukh later inherited not only the seat but also the responsibility of maintaining the party’s dominance in a key tribal region. He has not lost an election since.

“Today, the BJP’s dominance in the tribal belt is no longer unchallenged,” a senior party leader said. “Chaitar Vasava and the AAP have altered political equations across Narmada and neighbouring districts. The party understands that a charismatic tribal leader can still mobilise support outside the BJP framework,” the leader said, adding that “With Mansukh at the forefront, he often occupies the political space that the Opposition seeks to capture — that of local grievances. In many ways, it helps the BJP as well.”

The BJP, however, also recognises that the challenge is not merely electoral but generational. Chaitar Vasava has emerged as a powerful voice among younger tribal voters — a space where the BJP has yet to develop a comparable leader.

‘Second line of defence’

Even as the BJP leadership continues to give space to Mansukh, it has quietly begun building a second line of defence ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.

In February this year, nearly 700 workers from the AAP and Congress joined the BJP, including influential tribal leaders Praful Vasava and Raj Vasava. The induction was personally overseen by Sanghavi.

Vasava, however, laughed off suggestions that he enjoys immunity from disciplinary action. “When I speak, I provide complete proof to the party,” he said. “Party leaders do call me and ask me to explain my comments. Sometimes they even tell me to tone down my words. But my stand is clear — I am speaking the truth, and it should be told the way it is. If I am wrong, and the party explains it with logic or evidence, I accept my mistake.”

Burying the hatchet

Referring to his previously strained relationship with BJP MLA Darshana Deshmukh — which recently transformed into a public show of solidarity following the BJP’s setback in the Narmada district panchayat elections — Vasava said district-level leaders had created misunderstandings between them.

“For a long time, the Narmada district leadership poisoned my ears against Darshanaben. Some well-wishers later told me she was not at fault. Gradually, I began noticing patterns and realised I had misunderstood her. Once I understood that, I acknowledged it and stood by her.”