The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) was formed by tribal leader Chhotubhai Vasava and his son Mahesh Vasava in 2017. Chhotubhai was a member of the Nitish Kumar-led Janata Dal (United) till 2017 when the Bihar Chief Minister decided to again join hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He founded the BTP ahead of the 2017 Gujarat Assembly election. The party contested only six seats and won two with 0.74% of the total votes polled. Chhotubhai won from the Jhagadia Assembly constituency and his son Mahesh Vasava won from the Dediapada Assembly constituency in the 2017 Gujarat election. The party has decided to forge an alliance with the JD(U) again after Nitish Kumar's departure from the BJP-led NDA.