AHEMADABAD: After suffering its biggest loss in the 2022 Assembly elections in Gujarat, more than 16 defeated MLAs of Gujarat Congress demanded the resignation of state president Jagdish Thakor.
In the meeting held for Congress 'Pada Yatra’, Many senior Congress leaders expressed that they will work for party only after the resignation of the state president. Gujarat Congress leaders will meet Congress president Kharge in Delhi on Decemeber 23 and hand over the Gujarat defeat report.
Sources claim that the Gujarat Congress president will also submit his resignation to Delhi High Command on the same day.
In a meeting summoned by Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee president Jagdish Thakor on Wednesday, the party’s leaders expressed their anger over the defeat.
The meeting was called to plan out ‘Pada Yatra’, which the party plans to launch in February, covering all Assembly seats and talukas. However, the outbursts of some leaders derailed the agenda.
During the meeting, more than 16 MLAs, district and city president, expressed their anger against party functionaries especially against party president Jagdish Thakor.
Surat Congress president Hasmukh Desai Told TNIE, “More than 15 former MLAs including Randhnpur’s Raghu Desai demanded resignation of state party president and other senior leaders, they also said that they should take responsibility for the defeat and resign.”
Hasmukh Desai also alleged that in the meeting, "Many leaders alleged that election funds were not distributed equally by the state leadership with some candidates getting more than the others."
Former MLA Naushad Solanki who raised his voice against the party leaders in the meeting told TNIE, “I only shared my anguish as I feel that as a party we failed strategically to counter the political opponents. I strongly believe that party leaders will not realize that we have failed, there will be no attempt to find the solution or cure."
“In Gujarat, the Congress leaders are not succeeding in the strategy they have been planning for 25 years. On the other hand a 6-month-old party comes and establishes its position in Gujarat, Congress now needs to think that Congress is getting strategically weak somewhere.”
According to Solanki, the party failed on two fronts: “Strengthening frontal organization and making maximum usage of these organizations. Now the first task before the party is to win the party workers' confidence and trust, which can be done by handing the leadership to young blood."
Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, "Yesterday there was a meeting of ‘Hath se hath Jodo Pada Yatra’ in which many candidates were present, Naturally, if such a large number of candidates gather, there is a discussion regarding the election and in this discussion, the candidates expressed their anger.”
“As far as the question of resignation is concerned, Former MLA Raghu Desai has written a letter to our national president demanding his resignation, the party will take a decision on this, "he added.