Rahul Gandhi finally destroys Ahmed Patel's legacy in Bharuch

New Delhi: The love-hate relationship between Congress scion Rahul Gandhi and senior leader and chief political strategist, Ahmed Patel, has seemingly continued even after the latter's death.

As per the pre-poll pact, Bharuch has been offered to its INDIA bloc ally, Aam Aadmi Party, along with Bhavnagar. A decision that is being seen by many in the grand old party as being influenced by the Congress scion himself. 

With this single move, the aim is to destroy the legacy of Ahmed Patel from the constituency that had been nurtured by him for the past several decades. And by offering the seat to AAP, the issue of handing it over to any of the Patel siblings has also been taken care of, sources pointed out.  

Over the past few years, Patel’s children, Faisal and Mumtaz, have worked hard to carry forward the legacy of their father in Bharuch.  

Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal Faisal about two years ago before Gujarat Assembly elections in a bid to woo Patel siblings but could not succeed. 

It must be acknowledged that the daughter of Ahmed Patel, Mumtaz, has been nurturing Bharuch over the past few years with the hope of securing the Congress ticket. However, the hopes were dashed after the grand old party left the constituency for AAP.

Sources stated that the Patel siblings are upset as they are now expected to collaborate with the AAP workers and leaders who have been making allegations of corruption and nepotism against their father.

Patel was a close confidante of the then Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and was known to have kept Rahul at arm's distance from the functioning of the grand old party as well as the government of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for several years.

Party insiders knew about the strained relationship between Rahul and Patel, with the two camps trying to outmanoeuvre each other during the ten-year UPA regime at the Centre. And many senior Congress leaders acknowledge secretly that things haven’t been good between the Gandhi and Patel family ever since the death of Ahmed Bhai.

Ahmed Patel represented Bharuch in Lok Sabha thrice, the last being 1984. Though he later shifted to the Upper House, he continued to nurture the constituency with a vast connection with local leaders and workers.

Much before the alliance was announced, AAP had declared Chaitar Vasava as the candidate from Bharuch. Interestingly, AAP and Congress vie the same votes here and Ahmed Patel’s legacy has been attacked by AAP over the past few years.

Will Patel siblings rebel, hurt the AAP-Congress candidate?

With BJP looking for additional allies and trying to wean away powerful and known faces of Congress, it may not be a farfetched idea that the Patel siblings consider the saffron option, overtly or covertly.

As the Congress’ local leaders and workers owe allegiance to Ahmed Patel’s family, most may be outrightly reluctant to be seen backing the alliance candidate, making it extremely difficult for the alliance candidate to win the constituency.

The sitting MP from the seat is Mansukhbhai Vasava of the Bharatiya Janata Party. And the BJP hopes to ensure that its 100 per cent track record from Gujarat continues.

The Congress strategists, in their wisdom, may have decided to put a leash on Ahmed Patel’s legacy. However, this step may end up decimating the grand old party from the Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency forever.