Hardik Patel plays hardball with Congress, seeks 30 seats in Gujarat

New Delhi: As the last date of filing nominations for the first phase of Gujarat elections inches closer, sources said intense bargaining is on between the Congress and its alliance partner, Hardik Patel’s  Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS).

Congress sources said that the Patidar outfit wants to field its own candidates in 30 seats, a claim denied by Mr Patel.

“We have not sought tickets. Our agenda is reservation and will remain so. We want the Patel community to get reservation,” Mr Patel said in a media interview.  

On Saturday, while Mr Patel sought to show his strength by holding a “prestige rally” at BJP president Amit Shah’s home town in Mansa, Gujarat, defying official restriction, the Congress was grappling with a 24-hour deadline, ending on Saturday night, set by the Patidar leader to come clean on seats and the reservation issue. Mr Patel expressed hope that all sticky issues will be resolved in talks with the Congress.

“There is a political issue. I am confident the matter will be resolved by evening,” Mr Patel said.

Congress sources said some PAAS leaders were in Delhi on Friday to discuss pending, thorny issues.

They maintained that PAAS had sought 30 seats but a settlement could not be reached as Congress leaders were busy discussing their own list. Backdoor parleys are on and a settlement is expected soon, a source said.

Ashok Gehlot, Congress general secretary incharge for Gujarat, said, “We are finalising our list and will release it soon. We have authorised our state unit chief to speak to our alliance partners and settle the issue.”

Earlier, despite refusal of permission by police, Mr Patel went ahead and addressed the Mansa rally on Saturday.

The Patidar leader hit out at the BJP government for threatening his supporters and withdrawing permission for the rally.

Mansa is the place where the Patidar reservation demand and agitation began in 2015. Hours before Mr Patel’s supporters started gathering in Mansa, about 40 km from Ahmedabad, a prominent leader of the Patidar quota protest movement, Ketan Patel, joined the BJP, which named 36 candidates in its second list for the polls.

The Patidars comprise around 12 per cent of the state’s population and can influence the outcome in 60-odd seats in the 182-member Assembly.

November 21 is the last date for filing nominations for the 89 seats going to polls in the first phase on December 9. The second phase of voting will take place on December 14. Election results will be out on December 18.

Last week senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal was in Ahmedabad to meet PAAS leaders to discuss constitutional options for giving reservation to Patels in government jobs and colleges.

According to PAAS leaders, the Congress had offered an  arrangement under Article 31 and 38(2) of the Constitution, though it would not be within the 49 per cent existing quotas for reserved categories.

The Central Election Committee of the Congress has met twice in the last one week to clear the names of its candidates for Gujarat. The NCP and Sharad Yadav faction of the JD(U) have already announced that they will contest Gujarat elections in an alliance with Congress.