Battle lines are being drawn in the Congress over the perceived neglect and persecution of “original” Congressmen at the hands of the Janata Dal (G) group, which presently dominates the party in Gujarat.

Complaints from both sides await AICC secretary in-charge of GPCC Sudhakar Reddy when he visits Gujarat in a couple of days.

The group, mostly veterans of yesteryears, met and formed a 10-member committee in Gandhinagar on Sunday morning to chalk out a course in this regard.

Jitu Shah, a Madhavsinh Solanki loyalist, who hosted the gathering of around 50 senior leaders at his residence, has been made the convener of the committee.

He said the party was on a winning spree in other states, but in Gujarat it has been on a losing stint for the last 22 years, having won not a single Assembly election since then.

“Expulsion notices have been issued leaders like Navinchandra Ravani and Ramesh Thakor in recent months. The high command is being misguided. We will go out to the district and taluka levels and awaken the workers on how to revive the party against these odds to face the coming district, taluka panchayat, and municipal elections,” he said.

He said they have drawn the attention of senior leaders like Shankarsinh Vaghela, Madhavsinh Solanki and Arjun Singh to this neglect. “If need be, we will approach Ahmed Patel with our grievances,” he said. Arvind Sanghvi, who attended the meeting, said there was nothing against any individual, but the party required an overhaul. A roadmap will be prepared and the PCC leadership “will be consulted”, he said. GPCC president Siddharth Patel dismissed the meeting as being of any consequence. “The doors of PCC are open to all those who want to work for the party. But those who do not want to do anything have no right to complain…the high command is not sleeping,” he said, when told if he was ready to meet a situation where the dissidents approached the high command.

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