Paresh Dhanani (41) is Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s choice for Gujarat’s Leader of the Opposition post. A third time legislator and Patidar leader from Amreli, Mr. Dhanani was appointed as the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader on Saturday.
The announcement was made by Congress General Secretary in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot, after a meeting with the Congress president in New Delhi. “After taking a sense of all elected legislators, I submitted a report to Rahul ji , who then called me and Paresh Dhanani for a meeting in Delhi,” Mr Gehlot told The Hindu .
“He is young and aggressive leader from Saurashtra region. He comes from grassroots and has understanding of issues in Gujarat,” Mr. Gehlot added.
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“During our meeting with legislators, everyone had supported his name and passed a resolution authorising the Congress president to name the legislative party leader,” Mr. Gehlot said.
However, earlier, two senior legislators Kuvarji Bavalia and Vikram Madam had staked claim for the post. Mr Bavalia is a senior leader and former MP belonging to numerically important Koli community while Mr Madam is former Jamnagar MP and prominent leader of Ahir community. The party high command has, however, chosen a Patidar leader for the post.