As the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party battles the growing trust deficit with the Patels in Gujarat, the Congress is stepping up efforts to win over the support of this strong and powerful community.
As a step in this direction, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has convened a special meeting with the party’s Patel leaders on Wednesday to draw up a roadmap for garnering the support of the Patels or Patidars ahead of next year’s assembly elections in Gujarat.
Former president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee Siddharth Patel, projected as the party’s Patel face in the state, is heading this group of Patidar leaders which will brainstorm with Rahul Gandhi about its future strategy in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. The Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel will also sit in on this meeting.
According to Congress officials, each Patel leader attending this meeting is expected to be given charge of two to three Patel-dominated districts with specific instructions to win the confidence of the Patidars who have traditionally been wary of the Congress. In addition, they will also be asked to enroll Patels in the party and also identify potential candidates from the community for next year’s assembly poll.
Open support
With angry Patidars virtually declaring war against the BJP government in Gujarat to press their demand for quotas for their community, the Congress believes this is the right time for it to strike. As in the case of the ongoing Dalit agitation, the Congress has been extending tacit support to Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel’s agitation....
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