Ahmedabad: Apparently rattled by sudden resignation of party MLA Asha Patel last week, the Congress in Gujarat is now trying to convince the angry leader to withdraw her decision, fearing that she might join the ruling BJP.
The Unjha MLA resigned as a member of the Assembly and also from party membership last Saturday claiming “infighting”.
Congress leaders Monday said Patel has asked for some time to reply on their request to return to the party fold.
“Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani and I spoke with Asha Patel and asked her to take back her resignation, as per the instruction of the Central leadership,” Congress MLA Alpesh Thakor told reporters.
“She has asked for some time to give her reply,” he said. Thakor said they listened to Patel’s grievances during their meeting and also delivered a message from the party leadership. “Action will be taken on her grievances,” Thakor said.
Congress leaders are hopeful that Patel will return to the party fold, sources said.
In her letter addressing Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Patel had stated that she resigned from the party “due to prevalent infighting and because the leadership has been ignoring me”.
“On one hand Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given 10 per cent quota for Economically Weaker Sections while on the other hand, the Congress is trying to create a rift between different castes here,” she had stated.
Patel had submitted her resignation to Assembly Speaker Rajendra Trivedi in Gandhinagar Saturday morning, which was accepted. Patel’s move was viewed as a jolt to the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, as the party has been trying to recover the ground it had lost to the BJP in the previous elections. (PTI)
