As Congress gives away Bharuch to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party patriarch late Ahmed Patel's daughter apologised to the district cadre. Of the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, Congress will contest on 24 and AAP on 2 — in Bharuch and Bhavnagar. The AAP will contest four Lok Sabha seats in Delhi and the Congress three, the parties said on Saturday as they announced their seat-sharing arrangements for the national capital, Gujarat, Goa and Haryana.
It's been two years since the Congress' veteran leader and troubleshooter Ahmed Patel passed away. But this electoral season in Gujarat, he is still the party's ace in his native Bharuch district. Patel passed away in a Gurugram hospital on November 25, 2020, due to multi-organ failure post-COVID-19 infection.
Congress leader and daughter of veteran party leader late Ahmed Patel, Mumtaz Patel tweets, "Deeply apologize 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 INC stronger. We won’t let Ahmed Patel's 45 years of Legacy go in vain."
Faisal Ahmed Patel, Congress leader and son of Senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel also expressed his unhappiness and said, "...My party workers and I are not happy and we wanted this decision to not be taken but if the high command wants, we will follow it - both party workers and I... I am going to Congress and I will speak with the high command once again. There is a lot of time to file nomination as well as for elections...Gandhi family is my family too...I am of the firm belief that they will understand the emotions of Patel family attached to this seat..."
AAP candidate from Bharuch Chaitar Vasava claimed his victory from the seat will be a tribute to Ahmed Patel.
The Congress and the AAP are constituents of the INDIA bloc, formed by opposition parties to take on the BJP in the upcoming general elections. The AAP has already announced candidates for the Bharuch and the Bhavnagar Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat. "Today the country needs a strong alternative. This alliance has been formed in the interest of the country. This election will be fought by the INDIA bloc. The BJP's calculations will go wrong because of the alliance," AAP) leader Sandeep Pathak said.
