Congress leadership is missing Ahmed Patel’s advice: Shankersinh Vaghela
Former Gujarat chief minister Shankersinh Vaghela on Thursday said that after Ahmed Patel’s death there is no leader in Congress who can guide the party’s top leadership, and the party is suffering because of that.
Vaghela, who attended the meeting of dissident G-23 leaders in Delhi the day before, was speaking to reporters at his residence here. He himself is not associated with any political party now, having quit Congress in 2017. The veteran leader termed the Congress’ decision to give the responsibility of Uttar Pradesh elections to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as “misfire”. “The recent performance of Congress in elections shows the party is suffering because of Ahmed Patel’s absence. After his demise, there is no one to take his place and guide the leadership. If the party had found his replacement, there was not reason to form this G-23,” he said.
Patel, a trusted confidante and advisor of Congress president Sonia Gandhi, died in 2020.
“Asking Priyanka Gandhi to head (Congress’ campaign in) Uttar Pradesh was a misfire. Now there is a blot on her career. It happened because there was no proper advisor. G-23 wants the leadership to listen to them. This group is not revolting against the party. Their only problem is that no one listens to them,” said Vaghela. On the party’s debacle in Punjab, Vaghela said even a political novice would know that a sitting chief minister should not be removed just months ahead of elections. “The problem lies with the leadership. Politics is a full-time job. It is not a part-time job. Rahul Gandhi’s advisor should have told him this,” he said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
