As the Congress hands up Bharuch to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), party leader late Ahmed Patel's daughter Mumtaz Patel expressed disappointment over the decision, and apologised to the district cadre. The Congress will contest 24 of Gujarat's 26 Lok Sabha seats, while the AAP will fight two — in Bharuch and Bhavnagar. Taking to X, Mumtaz Patel stated: "Deeply apologize to our district cadre for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance.I share your disappointment. Together, we will regroup to make INC stronger. We won’t let Ahmed Patel's 45 years of Legacy go in vain."
Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, members of the Opposition's coalition-I.N.D.I.A Alliance, agreed on a 24:2 ratio for Gujarat, with the Congress contesting 24 Lok Sabha seats and the AAP contesting two. Bharuch and Bhavnagar were allocated to the AAP as part of the seat-sharing deal. This comes amid the Patels' ongoing campaign to maintain the ancient Bharuch Lok Sabha seat with the grand old Congress party.
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Bharuch Lok Sabha constituency has been a stronghold for senior Congress politician Ahmed Patel, and his daughter Mumtaz Patel has insisted on keeping the seat within the Congress party.
Earlier on Saturday, while speaking with ANI about reports of Bharuch's lok sabha seat been given to AAP, Mumtaz Patel had said that the Congress workers and the general public were demoralised and saddened by rumors that the seat had been granted to the AAP. She further alleged that party leader Rahul Gandhi was opposed to the Bharuch seat being offered to the AAP.