‘Felt demoralised, sad’: Ahmed Patel's daughter on Congress 'giving away' Bharuch LS seat to AAP
Mumtaz Patel said that the Congress workers and the people felt demoralised and sad after the reports came of the seat being given away to AAP.
Amid the talks of Congress giving Gujarat's Bharuch Lok Sabha seat to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the seat-sharing deal for the upcoming parliamentary polls, party leader and daughter of veteran party leader late Ahmed Patel, Mumtaz Patel on Friday hoped that the seat would remain with the grand old party as it has been the party's seat traditionally, being represented by Ahmad Patel.
Patel further said that the Congress workers and the people felt demoralised and sad after the reports came of the seat being given away to AAP. She also claimed that party leader Rahul Gandhi has also objected to the Bharuch seat being given to AAP.
"The talks are still on and the final decision is yet to be made. We had hopes that this seat would remain with Congress but when this information came people felt demoralised and sad. We have heard that Rahul Gandhi has also objected to the Bharuch seat being given to AAP. We are hopeful that this seat will remain with Congress. Traditionally, this is a Congress seat. They want an alliance because they want the support of Congress," news agency ANI quoted Mumtaz Patel as saying.
Along with Mumtaz, the late Congress leader’s son, Faisal Ahmed and several party leaders have also urged the party's high command to name its own candidate for the upcoming polls.
Earlier on Thursday, Mumtaz shared a cryptic post on X stating that her father “had taught her to fight till the end”. For several months, speculations were rife that the Congress would field either of Ahmed Patel’s children — Faisal Patel or Mumtaaz Patel — to take on the BJP, which has retained the seat for seven consecutive terms.
The dissatisfaction among the party workers rose after the AAP announced its candidates from two seats in Gujarat including Bharuch for the upcoming polls.
At a press conference following a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting of the party, AAP general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak announced Chaitar Vasva and Umeshbhai Makwana from the Bharuch and Bhavnagar seats.
Claiming that the Congress insisted on contesting from Bharuch, Pathak said winnability and not "parivarwad" (dynasty) should be the criterion to defeat the BJP.
Meanwhile, the alliance between the AAP and the Congress in Delhi for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls is on the verge of finalisation. According to the people aware with the development, the AAP is likely to contest four of the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and leave the remaining three to its alliance partner, the Congress, as part of the seat-sharing agreement.
(With inputs from agencies)