‘I will fight’ poster at Faisal Patel’s rally sparks buzz on LS contest in Bharuch

Faisal Patel gave responses to myriad questions from reporters on the sidelines of the event, addressing the rumoured “sibling rivalry” with his sister Mumtaaz and also expressing her aspiration to contest the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat. (Express Photo)

On Saturday, Faisal Patel, flanked by the leaders of the Congress’s Dediapada unit, addressed a public rally. The town was decked up with flags and streamers carrying Congress’s ‘hand’ symbol while posters of Faisal along with Ahmed Patel were also unmissable. The posters read, “I will certainly fight… I will fight for public issues, for the tribal brothers and sisters, for the weak and backward, for people of all religions– Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Christians– as well as all castes, for unemployed youth, for the farmers and against all injustice (loosely translated from Gujarati).”

Faisal Patel gave responses to myriad questions from reporters on the sidelines of the event, addressing the rumoured “sibling rivalry” with his sister Mumtaaz and also expressing her aspiration to contest the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat. “Both of us (Mumtaaz and I) have been working for the people of Bharuch for long and all we want is the betterment of the people of Bharuch. The party will decide who should contest the polls… If my people want me to contest, I shall certainly. I have been working for Bharuch district for a long time. My father used to keep me away from active politics but I have been working for education, healthcare, and social justice in this district for a while,” he said.

Faisal Patel said that he had a message for the tribal community in Dediapada that the Congress was “with them”. (Express Photo)

Faisal said that after returning from the United States in 2007, he had worked for the people of Bharuch.

“I have set up two healthcare centres here and I have also worked in Vandri village (the village adopted by Late Ahmed Patel during his tenure as Rajya Sabha MP). This (visit to Dediapada) is not about politics, it is for the love of the people; my father also dearly loved the people,” he said.

On AAP declaring MLA Chaitar as its candidate in the backdrop of an INDIA bloc alliance, Faisal said, “Congress is a democratic party and there are talks of the INDIA bloc alliance… I feel the alliance is very important for a strong opposition to fight together. If there is an alliance, the alliance partners will sit together and decide who will be the candidate for Bharuch Lok Sabha… It is their (AAP) thought that they have announced a candidate but we (Congress) have been working for the people of Bharuch for long.”

Faisal Patel said that he had a message for the tribal community in Dediapada that the Congress was “with them”. “I believe that the tribal community should take responsibility for its education, healthcare, and social justice… What is happening in the country today is that tribals are not getting justice. I have come here with a message that the Congress party is with the tribal community… We have a strong voter base in Bharuch and if we fight, we will win,” he said.