Dissent in the Gujarat Congress intensified on Tuesday as workers ransacked the party’s headquarters in Ahmedabad and disrupted a press conference by Amit Chavda, the president of the state unit. The workers were protesting the appointment of Shashikant Patel as the city unit chief. They wanted Nirav Bakshi to be made chief, the Hindustan Times reported.
“They wanted their leader to be made city president,” Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said, according to PTI. “Chavda heard them out and explained that only one person can become president.”
The development came a day after the Congress leadership named several new district and city presidents.
Former Congress MLA Indranil Rajyaguru had resigned from all posts on Monday night, soon after the party appointed nine district presidents and three city presidents. “Not with the party, I am unhappy with state leadership,’’ the leader from Saurashtra said. Several workers from Rajkot also resigned on Tuesday.
As many as 17 corporators, including Leader of Opposition in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation Vashram Sagathiya, backed Rajyaguru, threatening to quit if he was not persuaded to take back his resignation. “We agree with Rajyaguru that loyalists are being ignored and those who had acted against the party are being given posts,” Sagathiya said. “We have decided to meet state leaders and Gujarat in-charge Rajiv Satav and press them not to accept his resignation.”
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