Ahmed Patel’s son, daughter protest party move on Bharuch

New Delhi, February 24

The Congress’ decision to concede the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency of Gujarat to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has drawn strong reaction from Mumtaz Patel, daughter of veteran party leader late Ahmed Patel.

Faisal, Ahmed Patel’s son, too, said he would urge Rahul Gandhi to reconsider the decision.

Earlier, it was being said the Congress would field either of Faisal or Mumtaaz from Bharuch. However, as AAP and the Congress today announced seat-sharing agreements in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh and Goa for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, two Gujarat seats allocated to AAP turned out to be Bharuch and Bhavnagar.

The Bharuch seat was initially a Congress stronghold and was represented by Ahmad Patel thrice, from 1977 to 1984. From 1989, BJP’s Chandu Deshmukh held the seat till 1998. Since then, the BJP’s Mansukh Vasava has won the seat six times.

Mumtaz, who had previously objected to the Bharuch seat being given to AAP, said she won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of legacy go in vain.

“Deeply apologise to our district cadre for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance. I share your disappointment. Together, we will regroup to make Congress stronger. We won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of legacy go in vain,” Mumtaz posted on X.

Faisal said he would speak with the party leadership again. “My party workers and I are not happy, and we wanted this decision not to be taken, but if the high command wants, we will follow it,” Faisal has been quoted to have said.

AAP has already announced its Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava as its candidate from Bharuch.