Election vs selection:
Kaun banega pramukh?
As
the battle lines are being drawn for the coveted post of the state Congress
president, supporters of different factions are bracing up for a possible
lace-oil with each other.
Supporters of incumbent
Congress president C.D. Patel, who till now were demanding nomination
of the GPCC president by the high command, in a major shift of stand,
have decided to call for election to the post.
"We believe in consensus
but if the All India Congress Committee calls for election, we are ready
for it," said senior Congress leader and former Deputy Chief Minister
Narhari Amin.
"There are two ways
to have a president - one is election and the other is selection. If
Mr. C.D. Patel is not selected, then, we are ready to fight it out through
ballot papers," a C.D. Patel supporter said.
Earlier, supporters of
Mr. C.D. Patel had written to Mrs. Gandhi seeking confirmation of Mr.
Patel as the GPCC president. They had claimed support of 75 per cent
of the delegates for Mr. Patel and had said that Mr. Patel would be
the winner even if elections were held.
It remains to be seen what
course of action Mrs. Gandhi will pursue as various factions have claimed
sizeable support of delegates. Unlike Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Punjab
and West Bengal where party presidents were selected by Mrs. Gandhi,
Gujarat seems to be the odd one out as many bigwigs are still camping
in Delhi to win high command’s favour. As there are several contenders
for the hot seat like Mr. Madhavsinh Solanki and Shankersinh Vaghela,
Sonia Gandhi may be forced to announce elections for the Gujarat Pradesh
Congress Committee president.
Mr. Solanki’s supporters
met in Gandhinagar on Monday, where they decided that they would continue
to rally behind Mr. Solanki’s, though it has been confirmed that the
former Chief Minister, Mr. Madhavsinh Solanki has withdrawn his name
from the party president’s race.
But day before yesterday,
Mr. Solanki’s confidante, Mr. B.K. Gadhvi handed over a letter of support
to Mrs. Sonia Gandhi in Delhi to prove his point.
Mr. Navin Shastri, Mr.
Solanki’s supporter, said that although the former Chief Minister is
not in the fray for the top post, as he has withdrawn from the race,
he is the best bet to revive the party in the state.
Mr. Shastri further said
that Mr. Solanki is a true Congressman, who believes in giving a chance
to others to lead the party in the state. "But, we believe that
only Mr. Solanki has the charisma to lead the party," he said.
Recalling the "golden
days" of the Congress during Mr. Solanki’s reign, Mr. Shastri said
when Mr. Solanki resigned as the Chief Minister in 1985, Congress was
in a commanding position at all the levels. The successive leaders could
not hold the party’s rank and file together and the Congress declined,
he added.
