Gujarat Cong leader Desai seeks action against GPCC chief Thakor

Gujarat Congress leader and former MLA Raghu Desai, who lost the election from the Radhanpur Assembly seat in Patan district, made the demand in a letter sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday and shared with the media on Tuesday.

Ahmedabad: Gujarat Congress leader and former MLA Raghu Desai, who lost the just-concluded Assembly polls, has asked the central leadership to suspend state unit president Jagdish Thakor, alleging his "close associates" had worked against the party. Desai, who lost the election from the Radhanpur Assembly seat in Patan district, made the demand in a letter sent to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday and shared with the media on Tuesday.

The former legislator alleged Thakor's "close associates" had worked against the Congress party and he and his aides were also instrumental in ensuring his defeat from Radhanpur. In his response, the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president avoided a direct reply to his party colleague's charges, but said he understands how a person feels after losing an election.

In the letter to Kharge, Desai demanded that Thakor and his close associates, who had worked against him in Radhanpur, "be suspended from the party immediately". "Some party leaders had worked against the interest of the party and also to defeat me in the election. Some of them were close associates of Jagdish Thakor. As the GPCC president, he never controlled such people and played an important role in defeating me," alleged Desai.

Asked about the missive, Thakor said, "I have also received that letter. I can very well understand how a losing candidate feels. It is not easy to digest defeat. I don't want to comment further because I have already discussed this issue three to four times recently (with Desai)." The former Radhanpur MLA was defeated by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Lavingji Thakor in elections held earlier this month.

Desai came into limelight after he defeated BJP nominee and prominent OBC leader Alpesh Thakor in a 2019 byelection after the latter resigned as sitting Congress MLA from Radhanpur and entered the poll fray from the seat as the candidate of the ruling party. This time, the BJP fielded Alpesh Thakor from the Gandhinagar South seat, from where he won, and gave the poll ticket to the party's old guard Lavingji Thakor from Radhanpur.

Ahead of polling, Desai was confident of retaining Radhanpur, but eventually lost the seat to the BJP. In the just-concluded polls, the Congress ended up with 17 Assembly seats, its lowest-ever tally in Gujarat. (PTI)