Late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel’s daughter Mumtaz Patel on Saturday apologised to party workers after the Bharuch seat went to Aam Aadmi Party’s quota as part of the seat-sharing arrangement for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In a social media post on X, Mumtaz Patel expressed disappointment over the alliance’s decision and called on the party workers to regroup.

“Deeply apologize to Our district cadre for not being able to secure the Bharuch Lok Sabha seat in alliance. I share your disappointment. Together, we will regroup to make @INCIndia stronger. We won’t let @ahmedpatel 45 years of Legacy go in vain,” she said.

AAP-Congress alliance: BJP reminds Arvind Kejriwal of his 2012 jail promise

While Mumtaz’s brother Faisal Patel called the INDIA bloc “very important for the democracy”, he said the opposition would win the Bharuch seat only if Congress contested from there.

“I want to say this to (Delhi CM and AAP chief) Arvind Kejriwal that we (INDIA alliance) can win this seat only if the Congress contests from here. This is only after looking at the winnability criteria,” he said in a post on X.

“Everyone who understands politics in Bharuch knows that the Congress’ winnability is better (than anyone) here,” Patel added.

Bharuch Lok Sabha seat, which Ahmed Patel won in 1980 and 1984, has been with the BJP since 1989. Mansukhbhai Vasava of the BJP currently represents the seat.

The Aam Aadmi Party and Congress on Saturday jointly announced their pact for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. In Gujarat, the Congress will contest 24 Lok Sabha seats while the AAP will contest two seats – Bharuch and Bhavnagar.

When asked about resentment from party leaders in some of the seats such as Bharuch, Congress MP Mukul Wasnik said all factors have been taken into consideration and finally a decision has been taken. “We firmly believe that the decision will be respected by all the workers of the Congress and AAP,” Wasnik said.