Comments
The Congress’ Gujarat unit, which put a strong performance in the recent State elections, is intent on naming an ‘aggressive’ person to lead the party in the Assembly.
Party chief Rahul Gandhi has deputed central observers Ashok Gehlot and Jitendra Singh to meet the newly-elected MLAs in Ahmedbad on Wednesday, before a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader is named.
“A decision on the appointment of the CLP leader will be taken after consulting all the MLAs,” said Manish Doshi, spokesperson, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC). The meeting is seen as being crucial after the party’s top leaders lost the elections. Among them are former GPCC chiefs Siddharth Patel and Arjun Modhwadia, former CLP leader Shaktisinh Gohil and former union minister Tushar Chaudhary. This has resulted in a chance for the young brigade in the party to take charge.
Rahul’s push for youthThis fact was also acknowledged by Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Gujarat immediately after the results. “This time in the Assembly a new leadership has taken shape. The new Congress leadership in the house will take the baton forward and form the government after five years...” he had told party workers in Ahmedabad on December 23.
Amreli MLA Paresh Dhanani, a young Patidar face, is being considered the front-runner for the role of CLP, which was earlier held by tribal leader Mohansinh Rathwa from Chhota Udepur. Dalit face Shailesh Parmar, who won the Danilimda seat for the third time in a row, is also in the reckoning.
However, according to party insiders, Dhanani has his young age and aggressive stance to his advantage. He also enjoys the confidence of the party president.
BJP’s Patidar worriesDhanani’s likely appointment may cause much discomfort to the BJP-led government, which suffered from the recent in-fighting over the portfolio allocation to Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, and the subsequent backlash from the latter’s Patidar community.
In this backdrop, appointing a Leuva Patidar like Dhanani as the CLP leader is likely to send out a clear message of inclusiveness.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.