Soma Patel, Aziz Tankarvi get Cong tickets for LS polls

The state Congress on Thursday night announced two more candidates for the Lok Sabha elections, who will contest the Surendranagar and Bharuch seats. Aziz Tankarvi, the editor of a regional newspaper, has been fielded from the minority-dominated Bharuch seat, while Soma Ganda Patel, a BJP rebel and Koli Patel leader, has been given a ticket for Surendranagar as promised earlier.

Tankarvi, a veteran shayar, belongs to Tankaria village in the Bharuch constituency. He will contest the elections against BJP candidate Mansukh Vasava.

When asked for the reason behind him contesting the elections, the 64-year-old Tankarvi said, “The contribution of sitting MPs in the development of Bharuch and the surrounding areas is not satisfactory. It is a shameful situation and people have to face problems in resolving even little matters. There are problems at the grassroots level.”

Having secured the support of Soma Patel in the confidence vote on the nuclear deal in the Lok Sabha last year, the Congress offered him a ticket from Surendranagar as promised, despite opposition from local party leaders. Patel had left the BJP following
disagreements with Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.