'Deeply Apologize...': Mumtaz Patel after Congress Gives Bharuch Seat To AAP For LS Polls

Congress has announced to give Bharuch Lok Sabha seat that was once the strong hold of the late party leader Ahmed Patel to AAP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

New Delhi: Mumtaz Patel, the daughter of the late veteran Congress leader Ahmed Patel, and one of the contenders for the Congress ticket for the Bharuch seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, apologised to the district cadre following the allocation of the parliamentary constituency to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as part of a INDIA alliance's seat-sharing agreement in Gujarat.

Patel took on X (formerly Twitter) to apologise to the party workers of her districts following a joint press conference in the national capital by Congress leader Mukul Wasnik and the AAP, where it was announced that the AAP would contest the Lok Sabha election from the stronghold of Ahmed Patel.

"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," she said, in a post on X.

Earlier, Mumtaz had conveyed her desire to contest the Lok Sabha election from the constituency where her father, Ahmed Patel, held significant influence.
On a prior occasion, Mumtaz Patel's brother, Faisal, had also asserted his determination to secure victory in the Bharuch seat.

"Honorable Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji, you listened to me and the Bharuch Congress workers. By supporting us, I and my fellow Bharuch Congress workers have been honored. I promise you that I will live up to your faith by winning the Bharuch Lok Sabha" Faisal Patel had posted on X on Friday. Faisal Patel had earlier said that neither he nor the Congress cadre in Bharuch would support the decision to let the AAP contest the seat.

Ahmed Patel had won the Bharuch seat in 1977, 1980 and 1984 but since 1989 the BJP has dominated the seat winning it multiple times. Incumbent MP Mansukhbhai Vasava has held the seat 1998.

According to the compromise reached by the AAP and the Congress, in Gujarat of the 26 parliamentary seats the Congress will contest 24 seats, while the remaining 2--Bharuch and Bhavyanagar are in the AAP's kitty.

The party's MLA and tribal leader Chaitar Vasava will contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election from the Bharuch seat. Both parties have finalised their seat-sharing pact for the seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi also after several rounds of deliberations having settled for a four-three seat-sharing formula, with AAP contesting four seats and Congress three.

"Delhi Lok Sabha has 7 seats. AAP will contest on 4 - New Delhi, West Delhi, South Delhi and East Delhi; Congress will contest on 3 - Chandni Chowk, North East and North West," said Congress general secretary and MP Mukul Wasnik.

The Congress leader said that in Haryana his party will contest on nine Lok Sabha seats, while AAP will contest on one seat. "Haryana has 10 Lok Sabha seats. Congress will contest on 9. AAP will have its candidates on 1 seat - on Kurukshetra," he said. "After a long discussion on Chandigarh, at the end, it was decided that Congress candidate will contest from there," Wasnik said.

Congress will contest on both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa and the lone Chandigarh seat. However, the sealing of the deal - after a period of hectic negotiations, mixed signals and public display of disagreement is a big step for the Opposition as it prepares to take on the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.