Bharuch (Gujarat): Congress leader and daughter of the late party veteran Ahmed Patel, Mumtaz Patel conveyed her apologies to party workers in Bharuch for the failing to secure the Lok Sabha constituency during negotiations on seat-sharing with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Having previously opposed the allocation of the Bharuch seat to AAP, Mumtaz Patel affirmed her commitment to preserving Ahmed Patel's 45 years of legacy.

"Deeply apologise 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 Congress stronger. We won't let Ahmed Patel's 45 years of legacy go in vain," Patel tweeted.

AAP has already announced that its Dediapada MLA Chaitar Vasava will contest from Bharuch constituency.

Expressing his unhappiness, Faisal Patel, a Congress leader and the son of Ahmed Patel, said he would try to hold further discussions with the party leadership as there was still time for filing nominations.

"My party workers and I are not happy, and we wanted this decision not to be taken, but if the high command wants, we will follow it," ANI quoted Faisal as saying.

"I am going to Congress and I will speak with the high command once again. There is a lot of time to file nominations... The Gandhi family is my family too... I am of the firm belief that they will understand the emotions of the Patel family attached to this seat," he further said.

The Bharuch constituency, once a stronghold of the Congress party, was represented by Ahmad Patel for three terms from 1977 to 1984. Subsequently, from 1989 to 1998, the BJP's Chandu Deshmukh held the seat. Since then, the BJP's Mansukh Vasava has secured victory in the seat six times.

On Saturday, the AAP and Congress announced their seat-sharing arrangements in Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Chandigarh, and Goa for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Apart from Bharuch, the AAP led by Arvind Kejriwal will contest in Bhavnagar. The Congress will vie for the remaining 24 out of 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat.

Earlier this week, Mumtaz Patel aired her concerns that Congress workers and the public felt demoralised by reports of the Bharuch seat being allocated to the AAP. She also asserted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opposed the decision.

On Thursday, Mumtaz posted a cryptic message on X, indicating that her father had instilled in her the resolve to “fight till the end”.

Previously, there was speculation that the Congress might nominate one of Ahmed Patel's children, either Faisal Patel or Mumtaz Patel, for the Bharuch seat.