Scores of local Congress leaders, ticket aspirants and workers resigned from the party on Thursday, fuming over the first list of 52 candidates released overnight.
The infighting surfaced at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee office in the city on Thursday morning and continued through the day amid sloganeering and demonstrations by more than 1,500 party activists.
The loudest protests were directed at the candidature of Shailesh Parmar, a sitting MLA, from Danilimda (SC) seat in Ahmedabad district. Following delimitation, the MLA’s existing seat, Shaher Kotda, has been absorbed in Danilimda.
State Congress vice-president Girish Parmar, the party’s state spokesperson Jayantilal Parmar and former MLA Gunwant Makwana resigned to protest Shailesh Parmar’s nomination. A string of resignations came from dejected ticket aspirants and their followers.
Trouble had been brewing since late Wednesday night when the Congress declared its first list of candidates, which includes 27 sitting MLAs and eight former legislators.
Later, the party had released another list of 46 candidates, but withdrew it within hours without specifying any reason.
Similar infighting has hit the Congress district units in Jamnagar, Junagadh, Rajkot and Surendranagar.
Amid the trouble in the run-up to the polls in December, the Congress has finalised a seat-sharing arrangement with NCP. According to the deal, the Congress will leave nine seats out of the total 182 for Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s party.
{{/usCountry}}Amid the trouble in the run-up to the polls in December, the Congress has finalised a seat-sharing arrangement with NCP. According to the deal, the Congress will leave nine seats out of the total 182 for Union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar’s party.
{{/usCountry}}- With inputs from HTC, Delhi