Gupta's LS poll nomination withdrawal 'shocking', he didn't consult party leaders, says Gujarat Cong

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi on Tuesday said his party candidate Rohan Guptas sudden decision to withdraw himself from contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls came as a shocker for the party as he made the announcement without consulting the local leadership.Gupta disappointed the party despite being given such a huge opportunity, Doshi said.Gupta has been serving as the partys national spokesperson since 2022 and was recently picked by the party to contest from Gujarats Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat.

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi on Tuesday said his party candidate Rohan Gupta's sudden decision to withdraw himself from contesting the upcoming Lok Sabha polls came as a ''shocker'' for the party as he made the announcement without consulting the local leadership.

Gupta disappointed the party despite being given such a huge opportunity, Doshi said.

Gupta has been serving as the party's national spokesperson since 2022 and was recently picked by the party to contest from Gujarat's Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha seat. Gupta had earlier served as the national chairperson of the Congress' social media department.

Late Monday night, Gupta, through a post on platform 'X', announced that he has withdrawn from the contest due to his father's serious medical condition.

He also posted an image of his hand-written letter to Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil, informing about his decision to withdraw from the poll fray. Gupta's name was in the list of candidates declared by the party on March 12.

''Gupta's decision came as a shocker for the party because we trusted him and gave such a huge opportunity. One out of thousands of eligible party workers gets a ticket to fight the Lok Sabha polls. We are disappointed because he did not ask party leadership before taking this decision. It appears that he has directly uploaded the letter on X without consulting any leader. The party will take a decision in this matter in the days to come,'' Doshi said.

In the letter, Gupta said, ''Due to serious medical condition, my father is admitted to a hospital and I am withdrawing my candidature for Ahmedabad east parliament seat as Congress Candidate. I will extend complete support to the new candidate nominated by the party.'' Notably, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which had swept all the 26 seats in Gujarat in 2014 and in 2019, has re-nominated sitting MP Hasmukh Patel for the Ahmedabad East seat. He had won with a huge margin of over 4 lakh votes in 2019.

Talking to reporters for the first time after taking the decision, Gupta gave an indication that he will stick to his decision because his father does not want him to contest the polls.

''My father has been in the ICU since March 16. He is afraid that something bad will happen to me if I enter active politics. Though he was on a hospital bed, he wanted me to give him in writing that I will not contest,'' he said. ''He even fell unconscious while talking to me yesterday on this issue. Therefore, I am left with no other option than to withdraw from the contest,'' Gupta added.

Without taking any names, Gupta urged Congress leadership to stop those party leaders who are questioning his commitment and honesty. ''A leader who had nearly destroyed the party in 2002 is lecturing me on being honest to the party. No one needs to lecture me on this. My father was with Congress for 40 years and I have been serving selflessly for the last 15 years. I did my work with full commitment despite being attacked by some insiders,'' Gupta said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)