Faisal Patel, son of late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel, has announced he will stop working for the grand old party, claiming that he tried to follow in his father's footsteps but was denied at every step. Ahmed Patel, who had served as a Rajya Sabha MP, All Indian Congress Committee treasurer and former party president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary, died in November 2020. Faisal had aspired to contest from the Bharuch seat in Gujarat in last year's Lok Sabha elections but the Congress did not nominate him.
Mumtaz Patel said that she will continue to work to make the party stronger along with the party cadre in Bharuch.
While Ahmed Patel staved off the challenge to his Rajya Sabha membership, it leaves the scene wide open for the Gujarat assembly election this winter.
'Temperamentally, they are quite alike.' 'Ahmed Patel avoided the limelight and was not a power seeker.' 'The Gandhis too are not power wielders, but trustees of power.'
Sources claim Rahul Gandhi has been feeling uneasy about the alleged links between some corporate houses and some ministers.
Ahmed Patel, who was undergoing treatment at a Gurugram hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, breathed his last after multi-organ failure in the wee hours of Wednesday, his son Faisal confirmed.
The Congress' rebuttal came after the Gujarat police on Friday opposed activist Teesta Setalvad's bail application.
As per Ahmed Patel's wishes, he was buried next to the graves of his parents.
Mumtaz Patel, however, did not shy away from declaring she will definitely enter active politics if she gets a chance to do "good work".
'His condition is stable and he continues to be under medical observation...We request you to pray for his speedy recovery'
Patel, 71, the quintessential backroom strategist for the Congress, died at a Gurugram hospital in the early hours of Wednesday due to multiple organ failure more than a month after he tested positive for COVID-19.
The chargesheet said according to the 'budget sheet, 30 million were paid to Air Force officers.
In her condolence message for Patel, who served as her political secretary for years and was the All India Congress Committee treasurer, party chief Sonia Gandhi said, 'In Shri Ahmed Patel, I have lost a colleague, whose entire life was dedicated to the Congress Party.'
Rahul is going about the restructuring of the Congress leadership in a gradual, deliberate fashion: No sudden jerks, no abrupt moves. So while seniors like Janardan Dwivedi were edged out, Ahmed Patel has been retained.
Patel (71), the top strategist and troubleshooter of the Congress party, died in a Gurugram hospital in the early hours of Wednesday following complications related to COVID-19.
Congress on Monday accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of dragging the name of Ahmed Patel into the campaign for the Gujarat assembly polls because he "wanted to play the communal card".
'A thief sees a thief in everyone,' he said in an apparent swipe at the prime minister.
Patel, 71, who was critical for a few days, was admitted to the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on November 15 after he developed complications. His son Faisal said he died at 3.30 am.
Gujarat Assembly has issued notification for elections to three seats of Rajya Sabha, to be held on July 22. Elections were necessitated as terms of Patel and BJP MPs Surendra Patel and Pravin Nayak would end in August.
Ahmed Patel, the most powerful man in the Congress party after the Gandhis, speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a rare and exclusive interview.
Patel's closeness to the Gandhi family was undeniable. But unlike others, he resisted the temptation to use it to leverage personal business, says Aditi Phadnis.
India all-rounder Axar Patel was on Monday ruled out of the remaining two T20 Internationals against South Africa due to illness with the BCCI's selection committee naming Shahbaz Ahmed as his replacement.
Two individuals were arrested in Thane, Maharashtra, with a large quantity of charas valued at 4.31 crore. The arrests were made in the Ambernath area, and the suspects have been charged under the NDPS Act.
Additional sessions judge DD Thakkar took the SIT's reply on record and posted the hearing on the bail application on Monday.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel, while reacting to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's comments about him, said that he was never a candidate for the top post in the state.
The Rajya Sabha election was personal so it had to be won and Amit Shah needed to be sent a message.
Trashing the posters, Patel alleged that such acts show the 'utter desperation' of the BJP as it fears defeat.
He is starting to realise that an era is ending. And he is not ready to have a five-decade career besmirched by two alphabets -- AP -- that have cropped up in the AgustaWestland papers, says Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress leader is one of the most powerful functionaries in the party, having the reputation of being a trouble-shooter and strategist.
'They may malign the Congress, but I don't think the BJP will ever form the government on its own.' Ahmed Patel, the most powerful man in the Congress party after the Gandhis, speaks to Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt in a rare and exclusive interview.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday alleged that Congress president Sonia Gandhi was the "driving force" behind the "conspiracy" to implicate then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case in the state.
The 71-year-old remained Sonia Gandhi's most trusted lieutenant for most of her tenure as the longest serving Congress president, standing by her side through sun and shade.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi met and voiced his support for Deepak Kumar, dubbed 'Mohammad Deepak', an Uttarakhand gym owner who bravely confronted Bajrang Dal activists harassing a Muslim shopkeeper, symbolising unity and courage.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused Ahmed Patel of having "deep relations" with a Gujarat hospital where an alleged Islamic State operative worked before his arrest, even as the Congress defended its senior leader, dubbing the demand for his resignation from the Rajya Sabha as "outrageous".
Patel, who died on Wednesday at a Gurugram hospital where he was admitted with COVID-19, could have been the tell-all leader offering insights and information with his inside view of the workings of the Congress and the political world. But he would have none of it.
He was elected as a local body councillor in 1976 in Bharuch Municipal body of Gujarat at the age of 25 years and became the political secretary of Sonia Gandhi and remained a bridge during UPA-I tenure between the party and the government.
Deepak Kumar said his business has collapsed since he confronted Bajrang Dal activists protesting against a garment shop named 'Baba' and identified himself as 'Mohammad Deepak'..
India face a tough spin challenge from England in the T20 World Cup semi-final at Wankhede Stadium, as both teams aim for a perfect game in the high-pressure knockout.
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