With 22 councillors in the 38-member board, the BJP is now in majority, having pushed the Congress into a minority with just 16 members. All eyes are now on the general board meeting scheduled for January 17, where the BJP, by leading various committee formations, is likely to take away the charge from the Congress. The vote of confidence against incumbent president Bhavna Balgha is also likely, if she refuses to step down.

Those who formally joined the BJP on Thursday include Rajkot District Panchayat vice-president Hardevsinh Jadeja, Nitin Dhakecha, Dhruvkumarsinh Jadeja and Prafulaba Jadeja. They were given a warm welcome by the BJP Saurashtra in-charge and Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Rupani. Of the four, Hardevsinh and Dhakecha have had previous connections with the BJP and had joined hands with the Congress just before the district panchayat elections in 2005.

The move is largely seen as a strategy by the BJP to weaken the base of Dhoraji MLA Vithal Radadia, a farmer leader of the Congress in Saurashtra. Radadia, due to his solid network in the co-operative sector in Rajkot district has been calling the shots at the district panchayat, Rajkot Marketing Yard and Rajkot District Co-operative Bank for almost a decade. He is one of the few Congress leaders in Saurashtra to win all Assembly elections despite a strong BJP wave in the region in the last decade.