A secret meeting of some Congress leaders was held but no Muslim MLA was invited
By Abdulhafiz Lakhani Ahmedabad
Gujarat is heading for assembly elections in December 2022 and with hardly 16 to 17 months left to prepare, the Congress party has started searching for the right person to appoint as a Party Chief
For the Congress, there is a sense of urgency to appoint a GPCC President in Gujarat as the party is in complete disarray. A combination of defeats and defections has reduced the Congress tally from 77 to 65 in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly.
The new leader will need to supervise the state organisation, prepare elections strategy, while working on the ground with the cadres.
Not only this, Rahul Gandhi will be focusing on the Gujarat elections like he did in 2017. Sources said he would spend quality time campaigning in the State. And he would prefer a leader who gives him the right feedback from ground zero.
Politics in the Gujarat state has revolved around casteism for a long time, with even the so-called secular Congress party’s leaders not immune to it.
With several camps within the state unit, leaders have now begun fighting for dominance of the Other Backward Class (OBC) members. In order to discuss plans to that effect, a meeting was held by OBC leaders on Saturday in Ahmedabad.
The selection of the new party president has begun and veteran leader Bharatsinh Solanki wants to grab the top post. He has been steering the wheel of the Gujarat unit from behind the scenes, despite not being the top politico, said sources.
A change in the party is imminent, as Solanki has been trying to lure OBC leaders to his side. In a show of strength, several leaders were called to join the Saturday meeting at the last moment.
Prominent names placed at the gathering included Jagdish Thakore and Vav MLA Geniben Thakor. interestingly, there was no Muslim leader in the meeting. There are three Muslim MLAs of Congress. Nobody was invited according to Sources.
However, when contacted, Geniben denied her presence at the meeting. She told that she had received a call for the meeting, but did not participate in it. “I had received a call from a community leader to join a meeting, but I did not take part in it. I was in my constituency helping people,” she said.
Another leader under the condition of anonymity for fear of career blowback questioned the motivation of current Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Chavda and Solanki on not promoting other caste leaders.
“A change will only be possible if the party comes to power, but top leaders do not want to be in power it seems,” said a senior Congress leader.
“It has been years since leaders from the general category, educated professionals, and intellectuals have been promoted in Congress. There are no doctors, engineers or Chartered Accountants (CAs) affiliated with the party.
The party is revolving around vote bank politics,” said another senior Congress leader. For the same reason, even women cell leaders do not have sufficient supporters.
The losses accumulated by the party have been due to Thakorvad, Patidarvad and Muslims – which now have another option in the form of other parties.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India based Website, powered by Gujarat siyasat, a Fortnightly)
An Appeal For The Sake Of Upright & Fearless Brand Of Journalism
To sustain and improve our coverage. Gujarat siyasat- a vernacular Fortnightly and English٫ Hindi Website www.siyasat.net
Your little but timely support is needed۔
Bank details، GUJARAT SIYASAT, Current Account 204720110000318, ifsc code BKID0002047 BANK OF INDIA , VASNA BRANCH, AHMEDABAD GUJARAT INDIA Also on Phone pay, Paytm,Google pay +91 9925531111
We hope you help and see siyasat.net grow. And rejoice that your contribution has made it possible.
सत्य को ज़िंदा रखने की इस मुहिम में आपका सहयोग बेहद ज़रूरी है। आपसे मिली सहयोग राशि हमारे लिए संजीवनी का कार्य करेगी और हमे इस मार्ग पर निरंतर चलने के लिए प्रेरित करेगी। याद रखिये ! सत्य विचलित हो सकता है पराजित नहीं।
Regards,
Abdulhafiz Lakhani
Ahmedabad GUJARAT,India
