Hardik’s deal with Cong in hot water
A section of Patidar leaders threatened to withdraw supporttotheCongressonMonday after differences emerged over the opposition party’s first list of candidates for Gujarat’s elections next month.
Patidar leader Hardik Patel cancelled arally in Rajkot where he was expected to make public an alliance between his Patidar AnamatAndolanSamiti(PAAS) and the Congress. Many members of his organisation staged protests against the opposition party, which allotted just two seats to the PAAS in a list of 77. Thefirst phaseofpolls, whenthe Patidar-dominated Saurashtra votes, is on December 9.
“The Congress announced names of PAAS members in the list without ourconsent. Wewill protest against them. We will reconsidersupportingthosewho are running away from their responsibility,” said PAAS convener Dinesh Bambhania in Ahmedebad. Clashes broke out betweenPatidarsandpoliceoutsidetheresidenceofGujaratCongress president Bharatsinh Solanki in Ahmedabad. Dinesh Patel, another PAAS leader, alleged that they had to wait for hours outside before they were finally allowed to meet Solanki.
“Allwewanttoaskhimiswhy he declared our members’ names,” he told reporters, allegingthatpoliceabusedandthreatened to arrest him.
One PAAS member named in the list, Lalit Vasoya, ignored Hardik’s instructions and filed hisnomination.“Don’tplungeso deep in politics that you forget martyrs. Also remember the promises,”the24-year-oldleader tweeted, but didn’t make it clear whether it was addressed to his outfit or the Congress.
Later, he tweeted lines of a poem written by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Loosely translated into English, it read, “Obstacles keep on coming,skymightbeovercrowdedby doom,embersbeneathyourlegs, rain of fire on your head, but we have to set our hand on fire, we have to walk with each other, matching every step.”
Bambhaniaalsothreatenedto protest against PAAS members given ticket by the Congress if theyfilednominationpapers.But he faced opposition from within after PAAS Mehsana convener Narendra Patel — who earlier had alleged that the BJP offered him₹1croretoswitchloyalties— alleged Bambhania has made a secretdealwitheithertheBJPor the Nationalist Congress Party.
The developments laid bare the unease in the Congress and PAAScampsoverprotractedalliance negotiations.
AHMEDABAD: