AHMEDABAD: A resignation threat, a party phone call and a rapid retreat turned Patan MLA Kirit Patel’s warning to quit as Assembly Dandak into a high-voltage Congress drama, exposing deep fissures over appointments, old rivalries and control of the party’s Scheduled Caste wing.
What began as a bold threat ended as a calculated pause. Patan Congress MLA Kirit Patel’s announcement that he would resign from the post of Legislative Assembly Dandak sent tremors through the Gujarat Congress, only for the shockwaves to subside within hours after a conversation with Pradesh Congress President Amit Chavda.
Patel was quick to insist this was no pressure tactic. “This was not a stunt,” he told reporters, sharpening his words as he explained the real trigger: state-level appointments handed to leaders who, he alleged, had actively worked against him in the 2017 and 2022 Assembly elections. The message was blunt: loyalty was ignored and rivals were rewarded.
The spark, Patel said, came from Patan and Radhanpur. He accused party functionaries of trying to muzzle his speech during a programme in Radhanpur and complained that crucial decisions, especially appointments in the Scheduled Caste cell, were taken without consulting elected representatives.
"I was not taken into confidence,” he said, adding that those appointed had opposed him politically. “No action has been taken against the person who worked against me in Radhanpur,” Patel noted, his frustration spilling into the open.
Despite the anger, Patel drew a firm line. “We are going to remain in the Congress party,” he said, underscoring his mandate. “The people of Patan have trusted us. We will protect that trust. I will remain in the Congress as long as I am an MLA.” The resignation, he confirmed, was postponed pending a promised resolution.
That assurance came from the top. Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda, speaking during the ongoing Jan Aakrosh Yatra in Panchmahal, sought to cool tempers.
“It has come to my notice that there is a dispute in Patan district regarding appointments in the Scheduled Caste cell,” he said. “I have asked the chairman of the Scheduled Caste Department to sit both sides together and resolve it. This is our home matter, and we will settle it quickly.”
The controversy traces back to the appointment of Jayaben as president of the Patan District Congress Scheduled Caste Department by the Scheduled Caste Department’s state president, Hitesh Peethadia.
The decision triggered a backlash from supporters of former president Hasmukh, who locked the District Congress office and raised slogans against Peethadia and MLA Jignesh Mevani.
Saxena escalated the fight, accusing Mevani and Peethadia of attempting to “take control” of the Patan Congress. He met Amit Chavda, demanded that Jayaben’s appointment be scrapped, and issued a stark warning: reinstate him or face the mass resignation of 2,000 district leaders.
Caught in the crossfire, Kirit Patel went on the offensive. He alleged that appointments were being made “indiscriminately” at the behest of leaders engaged in anti-party activities, without any sensitivity towards elected representatives.
His ultimatum to resign as Dandak if the Scheduled Caste chief’s appointment was not reconsidered pushed the issue into the spotlight.
For now, that spotlight has dimmed. With Gujarat Congress President Chavda promising a solution after the Jan Aakrosh Yatra, Patel has stepped back, but not stepped down. The pause may be temporary. The fault lines inside the Gujarat Congress, however, remain sharply visible.