New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi has taken note of factionalism in the Gujarat Congress and is expected to visit the western state soon to unite the team ahead of assembly polls by year-end. “The details of the visit are being worked out,” Gujarat Congress chief Jagdish Thakor told ETV Bharat. Infighting in the state unit surfaced recently after working president Hardik Patel levelled charges that he was being sidelined by the state Congress leaders.
Hardik, who had earlier become the face of the protests demanding quota in jobs and education for the Patel community, had further said that he had informed Rahul about his unease but the issue had remained unresolved. When asked about Hardik’s public utterances, the Gujarat Congress chief claimed he had spoken with the young leader and sorted out the issues.
“There is no problem now. I have spoken to Hardik,” Thakor said, adding that the young leader was keen to contest the coming assembly elections. Hardik got a reprieve from the Supreme Court in a case recently which will allow him to contest the 2022 polls. Though Hardik had led the Patel quota movement independently, he had later joined the Congress at the behest of Rahul.
The significance that the former Congress president attaches to Gujarat was indicated when Rahul took note of the developments in the state unit and immediately sought a report from AICC in charge Raghu Sharma. Rahul had called Sharma on Thursday, where the leaders discussed strategy for the coming polls, said party sources.
The Congress had backed the Patel quota movement as the community is influential in Gujarat and has around 12-14 per cent votes in the state. For that reason, the BJP had brought in Bhupendra Patel as chief minister in September last year to replace Vijay Rupani. While the Congress had inducted Hardik to boost its prospects, the party is also looking at roping in another popular leader from the community, Naresh Patel.
“I have said earlier that we are open to Naresh Patel if he wishes to join us,” said Thakor. Interestingly, Naresh Patel, a social activist who has been touring the state over the past year, is being sought after by the BJP and the AAP as well. AAP, which got some good results in the Gujarat local body polls last year, is projecting itself as an alternative in the state and staged a Tiranga yatra recently.
Though a section of the grand old party is concerned over the entry of AAP, Thakor claimed the coming contest will be between Congress and BJP. “The results of AAP are before the people of Gujarat to see. They are making a lot of noise but it is going to be a Congress vs BJP fight,” Thakor added.
