Patidar and Koli leaders seek Gujarat Congress president post for respective communities

Ahmedabad, Jul 3 (PTI) Patidar and Koli leaders of the Congress are seeking that the next Gujarat unit president should be from their respective communities.

Incumbent Shaktisinh Gohil had resigned from the post on June 3 taking moral responsibility for the party's defeat in the bypolls to Kadi and Visavadar assembly seats. Though his resignation is yet to be accepted, Gohil has relieved himself from the responsibilities of the post and made senior MLA Shailesh Parmar as in charge president.

On Wednesday, Koli leader and Somnath MLA Vimal Chudasama met party president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi and urged him to consider appointing a member from the community as the next Gujarat Congress president.

"During the meeting, I informed Khargeji that a Koli community member had not held the position of state unit chief for a very long time. I demanded that Kolis should be given a chance this time. It will also prove beneficial to the party because of the large Koli population," Chudasama told reporters on Thursday.

Meanwhile, several Patidar leaders of the party held a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the issue in order to formally raise it with the high command later.

The meeting was attended by Patan MLA Kirit Patel and former legislators Lalit Vasoya, Lalit Kagathara and Pratap Dudhat, among others.

After the meeting, Vasoya told reporters the main agenda of the meeting was to attract Patidars or Patels towards Congress, adding that appointing someone from the community as state unit chief will help the party in this endeavour.

"After Gohil's resignation, we want a Patidar to be appointed as Gujarat Congress president. We have sought time from our senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Gujarat in charge Mukul Wasnik, to formally raise this matter. Once we get an appointment, a delegation will go to Delhi to meet them," Vasoya said.

The Patidar community had supported Congress in the 2017 assembly polls after the quota agitation but turned towards the BJP later, said Vasoya, who won in 2017 from Dhoraji but lost the 2022 state polls.

Everyone has the right to demand a post or position and this exercise should be seen as an endeavour to strengthen the party in Gujarat, he asserted.

Siddharth Patel, who was Gujarat Congress president from 2008 to 2010, was the last state unit chief from the Patidar community. PTI PJT PD BNM