New Delhi: While Gujarat prepares for Assembly elections this year, Congress party may find itself in throes of crisis as its state working president Hardik Patel is set to say goodbye to the party, reports said.
The poster boy of Patel agitation was invited at the 3-day Chintan Shivir in Udaipur but he chose not to attend the party’s brainstorming session.
Sources close to him say Patel has ‘made up his mind’ on future course of action and is likely to take a big decision in few days after meeting Rahul Gandhi.
Hardik Patel is upset with the party for not being given adequate representation in charting party’s strategy and he feels that his views/suggestions on revamping the party unit are ‘falling on deaf ears’.
Lately, the Patidar leader has been vocal against his own party & managers for being ‘ignored & side-lined’ and also accused them of not allowing local leadership to bolster voice.
His recent ‘snub’ at Congress Dahod rally worked as the ‘trigger’ behind his exit plans from the party. Rahul Gandhi addressed the rally and also held one-to-one meet with the legislators apart from members of the local community. Though Hardik Patel shared the dais with Rahul, the camaraderie was clearly not visible and his disappointment with the leadership has only grown further.
Hardik’s absence from Congress ranks will be a major setback for the party given the fact that BJP will be aiming to win the Assembly for 7th consecutive term. Stopping the BJP brandwagon would not only embolden Congress but will also send a strong message. The party understands that with divided house, it won’t be able to challenge the might of saffron party & therefore efforts are being to win over Patel.
Hardik is also miffed with party leadership for procrastinating on fixing responsibility. The Patidar leader says he has been state party president for 2 years now but his hands ‘remain tied’ and can’t take independent decision on recruiting new members to the party fold.