At a time when there is a growing need for the opposition Congress in Gujarat to put up a united show, internal bickering within the party has come to the fore in the last couple of days, with party leader Shaktisinh Gohil requesting the leadership to relieve him of certain responsibilities assigned to him.
Reuters
Gohil is an MLA from Abdasa in Kutch and spokesperson of All India Congress Committee.
He was given the responsibility of selecting candidates for districts like Rajkot and Kutch. Gujarat goes to polls by the end of 2017. Congress has been out of power in the state since 1995.
In a letter to party state president Bharatsinh Solanki, Gohil has requested that he be relieved from the special responsibilities given to him. He said that it would be better for the party if the elections were fought under the leadership of the state president and the opposition leader.
Sources said that Gohil took this step after some local leaders of Rajkot, including former MP Kuverji Bavalia, expressed displeasure over him being given the responsibility of selecting candidates.
This is a second jolt for the Congress in the last couple of days.
On September 6, former MP Jagdish Thakore resigned from all party positions apparently due to several differences with the leadership in the state.
Thakore has been so popular that his supporters had staged protests outside the Congress headquarters in the state.
