Congress, Stung By BJP's 'Revenge Of The Prince' Barb, On Giving Away Ahmed Patel's Bastion

congress, stung by bjp’s ‘revenge of the prince’ barb, on giving away ahmed patel’s bharuch bastion

New Delhi: The Congress today played down the row over handing over Gujarat’s Bharuch constituency – veteran Ahmed Patel’s legacy and bastion – to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as part of a seat-sharing deal for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. The BJP had hit out at the party after Ahmed Patel’s daughter, Mumtaz, shared her “disappointment” at the party not retaining the seat.

Reacting to the news, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that “decisions are made for the party and not a particular person”.

The BJP had scaled up the attack on Congress and the Gandhi family on Saturday over the party’s decision, claiming that the decision was Rahul Gandhi’s attempt to erase Ahmed Patel’s legacy and humiliate the family. Ahmed Patel had began his political career from the constituency in 1976 contesting the local body polls.

“In the Congress, one dynasty is more equal than the others. Everyone knows of the differences between the 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. “Gandhis believe in use and throw,” he wrote in the post that shared Ahmed Patel’s daughter’s X post.

In an emotional post addressed to the party cadre of Bharuch district, Mumtaz Patel apologised for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance. “We won’t let Ahmed Patel’s 45 years of legacy go in vain,” Mumtaz Patel wrote with the hashtag “Bharuch ki beti (daughter of Bharuch)”.

The Congress has played down the incident, with party MP Jairam Ramesh insisting that the party made “tough decisions keeping in mind the bigger picture”. “Even I was a little disappointed but decisions are made for the party and not a particular person,” he said.

A close aide of Sonia Gandhi, Ahmed Patel was considered the Congress’s chief troubleshooter. He died in 2020 due to COVID-19.