Ahmedabad, Just before the assembly elections in Gujarat, the Congress has suffered a major setback. Senior Congress leader and 10-time MLA Mohan Singh Rathwa has joined the BJP on Tuesday, resigning from the party membership and the post of MLA.

Rathwa had sent his resignation letter to Congress's Gujarat unit president Jagdish Thakor on Tuesday itself, after which there was speculation that he was going to join the BJP.

Mohan Singh Rathwa is one of the prominent tribal leaders of the state. He has been elected a member of the Legislative Assembly ten times and currently represents the Chhota Udaipur constituency in central Gujarat.

According to the report of news agency PTI, Rathwa had recently announced that he would not ask for tickets for the upcoming assembly elections. However, he had expressed his desire that his son should be made a candidate from the Chhota Udaipur assembly seat. Congress Rajya Sabha member Naran Rathwa has also reportedly sought a ticket for his son from the same seat.

Rathwa, however, denied that the reason behind his quitting the Congress was the party not giving ticket to his son. "Congress never said that they will not give me ticket (for my son). I have taken this decision even before Congress can say anything about it. I was impressed by the work done by the BJP government and PM Narendra Modi in our tribal areas. This is the reason why I have decided to join BJP.

Let us tell you that the votes for the Gujarat Assembly elections will be cast in two phases on 1 and 5 December, the result of which will be clear with the counting of votes on 8 December.