He is being described as a ‘sacrificial lamb’, but this veteran politician who is taking on Narendra Modi on Sunday says he may just turn out to be the ‘lion’.
Dinsha Patel, the Union MoS for Petroleum, is the Congress candidate from Ahmedabad’s Maninagar constituency. He has come here “on the orders of Soniaji” and says he is not bothered about his formidable rival.
“Whether I would win or not would only be known on December 23, but my entering the fray has put Maninagar on the map of the national media. Suddenly everybody seems to be interested in this place. Who is a lamb and who is a lion, would be decided by the voters.”
He dismissed the BJP charge of being an outsider in Maninagar. “My parliamentary constituency Kaira borders Maninagar and I have been working here for decades. Modi belongs to Mehsana district, which is quite far from here. Actually he is an outsider here.”
Patel is reaching out to voters through padyatras and scooter rallies, trying to enter as many households as possible. He tells them his opponent is busy raking up controversial issues and would not have time for the people in future, like the previous five years.
{{/usCountry}}Patel is reaching out to voters through padyatras and scooter rallies, trying to enter as many households as possible. He tells them his opponent is busy raking up controversial issues and would not have time for the people in future, like the previous five years.
{{/usCountry}}“Modi first tried to fool the people of Maninagar like the rest of the state on his development plank. After it failed, he is hiding behind his black commandoes and talking in a language which should be banned in politics.
“In 2002, he had promised to turn Maninagar into Singapore. After five years, even basic things like roads and drains have become worse.”