‘Revenge Of The Prince’: BJP’s Jibe As Congress Gives Away Ahmed Patel’s Bharuch To AAP

The BJP leaders brought up the differences between Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and late Congress leader Ahmed Patel. (Photo: PTI/File)

Former Congress leader and now a BJP spokesperson, Jaiveer Shergill, said handing over late Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s legacy and bastion, Gujarat’s Bharuch constituency, to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls was the “revenge of the Prince”. He was hinting at the differences between Patel and Rahul Gandhi.

Taking to Twitter, Shergill wrote, “Handing over long standing stronghold of Sh Ahmed Patel, who gave his life to Congress Party, to AAP is the revenge of the “Prince” !”

BJP’s National Information and Technology Department In-charge, Amit Malviya also took to Twitter and said Congress’ move was meant to erase Ahmed Patel’s legacy and humiliate his family.

“In the Congress, one dynasty is more equal than the others. Everyone knows of the differences between late Ahmed Patel and Rahul Gandhi. Giving away Bharuch to AAP is Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to erase his legacy and humiliate the family. Gandhis believe in use and throw,” he wrote.

Hours after the seat-sharing announcement of Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Gujarat for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on Saturday, Mumtaz Patel, the daughter of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, expressed disappointment over the AAP bagging the Bharuch seat.

Taking to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to express dissatisfaction, the Congress leader wrote, “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 Congress. We won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of Legacy go in vain. #bharuchkibeti”

According to sources, Rahul Gandhi had apparently spoken to Mumtaz’s brother, Faizal, and assured him that Bharuch would be theirs. Reacting to the seat-sharing formula, Faisal Patel said, “Hope Rahul Gandhi will re-think his decision.”

Later, speaking to the news agency ANI on the matter, Congress leader Mumtaz Patel said, “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.”

In Gujarat, the AAP will contest from Bharuch and Bhavnagar, while the Congress will field its candidates from the remaining 24 seats in the state.

The Bharuch seat has been held by the BJP for seven consecutive terms, establishing it as a pivotal battleground for opposition parties. There were ongoing speculations for months suggesting that either Faisal Patel or Mumtaz Patel, both children of Ahmed Patel, might be nominated by the Congress to contest against the BJP’s longstanding dominance.