NEW DELHI:
Mumtaz Patel
, daughter of late Congress veteran
Ahmed Patel
, apologised to her district (
Bharuch
) cadre for not being able to secure the Lok Sabha seat.
“Deeply apologize to our district cadre for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance. I share your disappointment,” she wrote on X (previously Twitter).
Her comments came soon after it was announced that the
Bharuch constituency
has been offered to the Aam Adami Party (AAP) as part of the seat-share pact in Gujarat.
Mumtaz said she would regroup with the party cadre to make the Congress party stronger.
” … Together, we will regroup to make the Indian National Congress stronger. We won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of legacy go in vain,” Mumtaz added.
Earlier today, Congress leader Mukul Wasnik announced during a joint press conference with AAP that in Gujarat’s 26 Lok Sabha seats, the grand old party will contest on 24 and AAP will field its candidates on two seats – Bharuch and Bhavnagar.
Mumtaz has been active in the constituency, which is viewed as Ahmed Patel’s bastion, and she had been pitching her claim for the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha contest.
On Friday, Mumtaz Patel’s brother Faisal had also declared that he would win the Bharuch seat after reports emerged that former Congress President Rahul Gandhi had said that he was not in favour of the party giving AAP the seat but left the decision to the party leadership.
“Rahul Gandhi ji, you listened to me and the Bharuch Congress workers. By supporting us, I and my fellow Bharuch Congress workers have been honored. I promise you that I will live up to your faith by winning the Bharuch Lok Sabha,” Faisal had posted on X on Friday.
He had earlier said that neither he nor the Congress cadre in Bharuch would support the decision to let the AAP contest the seat.
Ahmed Patel had won the Bharuch seat in 1977, 1980 and 1984 but the BJP has dominated the seat since 1989. Incumbent MP Mansukhbhai Vasava has held the seat since 1998.
Along with Gujarat, AAP and Congress also finalised the seat-sharing deal in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, and Chandigarh. In Delhi, AAP will contest on four seats and Congress on three remaining seats. In Haryana, the Congress will field nine candidates, while AAP will contest one Lok Sabha seat. Congress will contest on all two Lok Sabha seats of Goa and the lone seat of Chandigarh.
(With agency inputs)