Cong leader Ahmed Patel says he was never CM candidate for Gujarat & never will be

Image: Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel and party president Sonia Gandhi. (PTI file)

New Delhi: Congress' strong man in Gujarat, Ahmed Patel has made it clear that he isn't aspiring for the post of Chief Minister of the state in case his party comes to power. His statement has come on a day when polling is taking place for the first phase of Gujarat Assembly elections 2017. Congress leader said that he was never CM candidate for Gujarat and will never be CM candidate. Talking about his posters, Ahmed Patel said they were "mischief".  

#GujaratRound1 We are confident of #Congress victory looking at the response here. I don't want to remind the kind of language used against Sonia Gandhiji and other Congressmen by Modiji and #BJP: Ahmed Patel, Congress veteran. #GujaratElection2017 https://t.co/ltXO0PIGSJ pic.twitter.com/8mZlliAHJC

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) December 9, 2017

Congress leader @ahmedpatel says he was never CM candidate for Gujarat, will never be CM candidate. Posters were mischief @abpnewstv @pankajjha_ pic.twitter.com/vecjvcXCOb — milind khandekar (@milindkhandekar) December 9, 2017

Ahmed Patel who is the political secretary to the Congress President Sonia Gandhi since 2001 has been widely credited with the party’s performance in the 2004 and 2009 General elections. Interestingly, posters appealing Muslims to vote for Congress to make Ahmed Patel the chief minister came up in some minority-dominated areas in Gujarat on the last day of campaigning for first phase of Gujarat polls, but Patel called it a "dirty trick" by the BJP and said he was not in the race. The posters that came up in old city area and Surat-East constituency of the diamond and trading hub which goes to polls on Saturday carried photos of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Ahmed Patel. "Muslims are requested to vote for Congress party to maintain unity of the community and make Ahmed Patel wazir-e-aalam (chief minister) of Gujarat," read the posters. (With PTI inputs)