Congress approaches Unjha MLA Patel to take back resignation

Apparently rattled by the 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. Interestingly, state Congress chief Amit Chavda had said that Patel seemed to have taken the decision for "personal gains".

"Till yesterday, she had not made any representation to the party," Chavda had said. Unjha is one of the seven Assembly segments within the Mahesana Lok Sabha constituency, currently held by the BJP.

Of the seven Assembly constituencies, the BJP holds four while the Congress holds three, including Unjha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hometown Vadnagar comes under Unjha segment.

Patel had won the 2017 assembly polls against Narayan Lalu Patel of the BJP, in the wake of the Patel quota stir. Patel became the latest Congress MLA to quit the party, months after senior party legislator Kunvarji Bavaliya switched sides, and joined the BJP. He was later made a minister in the state cabinet.

When asked whether she would join the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Patel had said she would consult the people of her constituency before taking any decision. In the 2017 polls, the BJP had won 99 seats in the 182-member house while the Congress bagged 77.

With the exit of Bavaliya and Patel, the opposition party's tally in the Assembly has fallen to 75 seats, while BJP's strength rose to 100 after Bavaliya won a bypoll from Jasdan in December last.

(With inputs from agencies.)