I did not know that it would be my last Eid with Ahmed bhai. I saw him take all precaution and never once suspected that he would fall ill and would never make his way back home.

The last two decades of the Indian National Congress cannot be understood without knowing Ahmed Patel. It will not be wrong to say that Congress, as we know it today, belonged to Ahmed Patel.&nbsp;

He was fondly called as AP by both junior and senior partners. It is not as if AP had no history before Sonia Gandhi, but he came into his own during her tenure. The irony is that he also witnessed the lowest phase of his career during Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as the president of the Party.&nbsp;

AP became MP from Gujarat in the 1980s, and since then never looked back. In the late 80s, he made a switch to the Rajya Sabha and did well even during PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure in the Congress.

It would be impossible to cover Congress during Sonia’s days if one did not have access to her all powerful political secretary - AP. It also remained impossible to understand Congress even when Rahul Gandhi sidelined AP during his tenure.&nbsp;

Patel's institutional memory served everyone associated with him. My first brush with AP was in 2004 when I was a junior reporter in a TV channel. Those were different days, perhaps. I had done a story that was not particularly complimentary to him. He called me, asking that I inserted his version of events, not a word of anger passed his lips on the overall tone of the story nor was my editor called over the story.

During the reign of UPA, his power and reach remained immense. I remember a serving Cabinet minister calling me and complaining that even Sonia Gandhi does not keep the sanctity of a private conversation. When I asked the reason, she said she had gone to 10, Janpath to inform Gandhi that she would be on leave for 10 days in Europe and by the time she left the premise, she received a call from AP asking her which countries she intended to visit, and that he too be kept in the loop.&nbsp;

My answer was that if the boss loves him, then you cannot fight him. Make peace with AP.&nbsp;

A second conversation I recall was Patel’s own assessment of himself. &nbsp;On many issues, he did not see eye to eye with Rahul Gandhi but was candid enough to admit that one cannot perform surgery on nature, and that the work had to be done with what one has.&nbsp;

When I probed him about being sidelined after all he did for the party, his answer would remain the same.&nbsp;

“Not a single person would stand at my gate if the party realised that Sonia Gandhi is not interested in working with me,” he would say.&nbsp;

He knew his power and limit, and understood that it was a symbiotic relationship. Perhaps it is for this reason that he dispassionately spoke against all 23 dissenters in Congress Working Committee when they questioned Sonia Gandhi’s way of functioning.&nbsp;

It was not as if he was surprised by the letter. He knew the letter existed and also knew what his last stand was.&nbsp;

Lastly, he was a quintessential Congressman. He has taken many secrets to grave. He chose never to speak in public. He would always call back, irrespective of rank and designation and never hold a grudge.&nbsp;

There are many anecdotes I have of AP, but time is not ripe to share but with this I would like to end this obit.&nbsp;

During a reporting assignment, I sent a text message to AP by mistake. The message was supposed to be sent to my editor. The text message read that “AP has confirmed that this particular minister would be asked to resign because madam thinks that continuation is untenable. We can run with the story”.&nbsp;

I ran with the story after speaking with my editor not realising that the message was not with him. The story broke, I won the day but also received a lashing from AP saying that he would never speak with me again. I thought that it would end my reporting in Congress.&nbsp;

It was 2008 but I received a call in evening where AP apologised to me for shouting at me.

And like a true self effacing Gujarati he said, "You got to be careful in what you speak or write in context of me. I don’t like my name being taken. Just see to it."

This was AP -- a powerful back room person but humble who never let power run in his head. He will be missed above all for the powerful political observer he was despite being a player in the system.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do&nbsp;not represent the views of&nbsp;WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse&nbsp;the views of the writer)

I did not know that it would be my last Eid with Ahmed bhai. I saw him take all precaution and never once suspected that he would fall ill and would never make his way back home.

I did not know that it would be my last Eid with Ahmed bhai. I saw him take all precaution and never once suspected that he would fall ill and would never make his way back home. The last two decades of the Indian National Congress cannot be understood without knowing Ahmed Patel. It will not be wrong to say that Congress, as we know it today, belonged to Ahmed Patel. He was fondly called as AP by both junior and senior partners. It is not as if AP had no history before Sonia Gandhi, but he came into his own during her tenure. The irony is that he also witnessed the lowest phase of his career during Sonia Gandhi’s tenure as the president of the Party. AP became MP from Gujarat in the 1980s, and since then never looked back. In the late 80s, he made a switch to the Rajya Sabha and did well even during PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure in the Congress. It would be impossible to cover Congress during Sonia’s days if one did not have access to her all powerful political secretary - AP. It also remained impossible to understand Congress even when Rahul Gandhi sidelined AP during his tenure. Patel's institutional memory served everyone associated with him. My first brush with AP was in 2004 when I was a junior reporter in a TV channel. Those were different days, perhaps. I had done a story that was not particularly complimentary to him. He called me, asking that I inserted his version of events, not a word of anger passed his lips on the overall tone of the story nor was my editor called over the story. During the reign of UPA, his power and reach remained immense. I remember a serving Cabinet minister calling me and complaining that even Sonia Gandhi does not keep the sanctity of a private conversation. When I asked the reason, she said she had gone to 10, Janpath to inform Gandhi that she would be on leave for 10 days in Europe and by the time she left the premise, she received a call from AP asking her which countries she intended to visit, and that he too be kept in the loop. My answer was that if the boss loves him, then you cannot fight him. Make peace with AP. A second conversation I recall was Patel’s own assessment of himself. On many issues, he did not see eye to eye with Rahul Gandhi but was candid enough to admit that one cannot perform surgery on nature, and that the work had to be done with what one has. When I probed him about being sidelined after all he did for the party, his answer would remain the same. “Not a single person would stand at my gate if the party realised that Sonia Gandhi is not interested in working with me,” he would say. He knew his power and limit, and understood that it was a symbiotic relationship. Perhaps it is for this reason that he dispassionately spoke against all 23 dissenters in Congress Working Committee when they questioned Sonia Gandhi’s way of functioning. It was not as if he was surprised by the letter. He knew the letter existed and also knew what his last stand was. Lastly, he was a quintessential Congressman. He has taken many secrets to grave. He chose never to speak in public. He would always call back, irrespective of rank and designation and never hold a grudge. There are many anecdotes I have of AP, but time is not ripe to share but with this I would like to end this obit. During a reporting assignment, I sent a text message to AP by mistake. The message was supposed to be sent to my editor. The text message read that “AP has confirmed that this particular minister would be asked to resign because madam thinks that continuation is untenable. We can run with the story”. I ran with the story after speaking with my editor not realising that the message was not with him. The story broke, I won the day but also received a lashing from AP saying that he would never speak with me again. I thought that it would end my reporting in Congress. It was 2008 but I received a call in evening where AP apologised to me for shouting at me. And like a true self effacing Gujarati he said, "You got to be careful in what you speak or write in context of me. I don’t like my name being taken. Just see to it." This was AP -- a powerful back room person but humble who never let power run in his head. He will be missed above all for the powerful political observer he was despite being a player in the system. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer)

The Ahmed Patel I knew

Nothing is permanent in politics and things can change quickly. Indian politics too is not immune to this dogma. The present crisis in&nbsp;Congress has&nbsp;brought a sidelined player to the centre stage. 
 
Ahmed Patel served as political secretary to Sonia Gandhi and virtually ran the party for 15 years. 80 per cent of the appointments within the Congress during his heydays were influenced by him. Despite the power he enjoyed, Patel was the most self-effacing and media-shy politician.

He hated his name on papers. He avoided TV to his best but still knew every reporter and editor by name. He continues with this habit but now and then indulges himself with an occasional television byte.

He was systematically sidelined by new Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The new president wanted his team in place and he got one slowly which had more outsiders than ever.

In fact, Rahul&nbsp;sidelined most of the Congress leaders who were associated with Ahmed Patel. Few close to him survived. They survived because they were powerful leaders in their respective states. The best example is Ashok Gehlot. Despite the onslaught and systematic neglect, Ahmed Patel held on to the party. He did not walk away.

He fought Rajya Sabha elections alone without any party support. It is not without significance that it took Rahul Gandhi more than 4 hours to congratulate him. He survived because he had obliged many in the 10 years Congress was in power. He did not make many enemies barring Amit Shah which was unavoidable.&nbsp;

Such was his resilience that he would often snub journalists for writing on all the work he did quietly for Gandhis. Though, he could not save his friend Janardan Dwivedi. It is said that he could not take a stand when Rahul Gandhi was altering the party in his image.

Things changed. Today, there is no leader except him in the Congress who can build a network quietly. He is the only one with whom his contemporaries and chief ministers are willing to talk. He is the glue today which can connect with each and every person in Congress. He may not be able to influence decisions unilaterally the way he did&nbsp;in the past, but he can still bring everyone on the table. The old man is back in the game again.

He still manages to get time to meet Sonia Gandhi. Though there was a time that even Sonia Gandhi was seeing less of him. Now, the party needs him more than ever.

Sonia and Rahul&nbsp;have taken a step back and Priyanka&nbsp;is confined to Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka will have to prove herself to become a contender at the national level. Rahul Gandhi is not a contender today and Sonia Gandhi, much respected will never occupy the centre stage again. In this case, it is Ahmed Patel who has been left with the baby crying. It is him, who is meeting people to create a consensus in the party in the absence of Rahul Gandhi moving away. If one has to understand as to what is happening in Congress, one may need to work their phone lines with Ahmad Patel again.

It is also true that the office of Rahul Gandhi is counting people&nbsp;who demonstrated their loyalty in time of Rahul’s utmost humiliation at hustings. Perhaps, Rahul Gandhi wanted others to resign in large numbers. It did not happen. One reason was&nbsp;that the show of support in Delhi was a big flop. The irony is that it ultimately took Ahmed Patel to create a face-saving exit for 150 loyalists who were sitting in to create pressure on Rahul Gandhi so that he withdraws his resignation.

Ahmed Patel can never be the king. In past, he was the kingmaker. He can play this role for a few more years. The choice is wide open for the party. It can either go for a loyalist and subsequently&nbsp;reignite its love affair with a younger Gandhi or chart a new journey with a new non-dynastic leader who can remake the Congress party. The game is on. 
 
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)&nbsp;

 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Nothing is permanent in politics and things can change quickly. Indian politics too is not immune to this dogma. The present crisis in Congress has brought a sidelined player to the centre stage.

Nothing is permanent in politics and things can change quickly. Indian politics too is not immune to this dogma. The present crisis in Congress has brought a sidelined player to the centre stage. Ahmed Patel served as political secretary to Sonia Gandhi and virtually ran the party for 15 years. 80 per cent of the appointments within the Congress during his heydays were influenced by him. Despite the power he enjoyed, Patel was the most self-effacing and media-shy politician. He hated his name on papers. He avoided TV to his best but still knew every reporter and editor by name. He continues with this habit but now and then indulges himself with an occasional television byte. He was systematically sidelined by new Congress president Rahul Gandhi. The new president wanted his team in place and he got one slowly which had more outsiders than ever. In fact, Rahul sidelined most of the Congress leaders who were associated with Ahmed Patel. Few close to him survived. They survived because they were powerful leaders in their respective states. The best example is Ashok Gehlot. Despite the onslaught and systematic neglect, Ahmed Patel held on to the party. He did not walk away. He fought Rajya Sabha elections alone without any party support. It is not without significance that it took Rahul Gandhi more than 4 hours to congratulate him. He survived because he had obliged many in the 10 years Congress was in power. He did not make many enemies barring Amit Shah which was unavoidable. Such was his resilience that he would often snub journalists for writing on all the work he did quietly for Gandhis. Though, he could not save his friend Janardan Dwivedi. It is said that he could not take a stand when Rahul Gandhi was altering the party in his image. Things changed. Today, there is no leader except him in the Congress who can build a network quietly. He is the only one with whom his contemporaries and chief ministers are willing to talk. He is the glue today which can connect with each and every person in Congress. He may not be able to influence decisions unilaterally the way he did in the past, but he can still bring everyone on the table. The old man is back in the game again. He still manages to get time to meet Sonia Gandhi. Though there was a time that even Sonia Gandhi was seeing less of him. Now, the party needs him more than ever. Sonia and Rahul have taken a step back and Priyanka is confined to Uttar Pradesh. Priyanka will have to prove herself to become a contender at the national level. Rahul Gandhi is not a contender today and Sonia Gandhi, much respected will never occupy the centre stage again. In this case, it is Ahmed Patel who has been left with the baby crying. It is him, who is meeting people to create a consensus in the party in the absence of Rahul Gandhi moving away. If one has to understand as to what is happening in Congress, one may need to work their phone lines with Ahmad Patel again. It is also true that the office of Rahul Gandhi is counting people who demonstrated their loyalty in time of Rahul’s utmost humiliation at hustings. Perhaps, Rahul Gandhi wanted others to resign in large numbers. It did not happen. One reason was that the show of support in Delhi was a big flop. The irony is that it ultimately took Ahmed Patel to create a face-saving exit for 150 loyalists who were sitting in to create pressure on Rahul Gandhi so that he withdraws his resignation. Ahmed Patel can never be the king. In past, he was the kingmaker. He can play this role for a few more years. The choice is wide open for the party. It can either go for a loyalist and subsequently reignite its love affair with a younger Gandhi or chart a new journey with a new non-dynastic leader who can remake the Congress party. The game is on. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL.)

The return of Ahmed Patel

The Congress, which is battling an exodus of Gujarat lawmakers into the BJP, said on Monday that it was confident of its Gujarat Rajya Sabha candidate Ahmed Patel&#39;s victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that the senior Congress leader had the support of more legislators than required for victory.

Even as he accused the BJP of &quot;stealing&quot; its MLAs under a &quot;premeditated plan&quot;, senior Congress spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was confident Ahmed Patel would win by a margin of 10-15 votes.

&quot;Ahmed bhai will win by a margin of at least 10 to 15 votes. Our candidate had 13-14 votes surplus and the BJP says they do not steal. Why has the BJP fielded its third candidate for the polls when it does not have the requisite number of MLAs in support. It is only to steal our MLAs,&quot; he said. &quot;This is a pre-meditated plan to steal MLAs.&quot;

He said the BJP was &quot;plotting&quot; to steal Congress MLAs from the airport itself.

&quot;The BJP is creating an atmosphere against them. They (BJP) are saying our MLAs are in Bengaluru when people are suffering because of floods. The BJP wants to exploit the situation so that when they return it could steal some of them and make a few others resign,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

Ghulam Nabi Azad also clarified that Ahmed Patel was contesting the Rajya Sabha election as a senior Congress leader and not as political secretary to party chief Sonia Gandhi and thus, her name should not be dragged into this poll.

&quot;I don&#39;t want to involve the name of the Congress president. He is contesting as the senior Congress leader and not as political secretary,&quot; the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said.

He claimed Congress leaders and workers were on the ground, from block to district level, helping flood-hit people.

Congress sources also told PTI that Ahmed Patel had also offered his Rajya Sabha seat to Sankarsingh Vaghela before he quit the party.

Congress sources said Ahmed Patel was reluctant to fight the election but agreed after he was requested by the party. 
 
The Congress had 57 MLAs in the 182-member Assembly. Of these, six have quit since Thursday, bring down its strength to 51.&nbsp;

Ahmed Patel requires 44 first preference votes for a straight win which seems easy to procure at the moment.

More desertions could, however, jeopardise his chances of getting elected to the Upper House for the fifth time. He also has the assured support of two MLAs of the NCP and one of the JD(U).

The BJP has fielded is chief Amit Shah and renominated federal minister Smriti Irani for two seats. It has fielded Balwantsinh Rajput for the third which is held by Patel.

Ahmed Patel filed his nominations for the August 8 polls on July 26.

Panic broke out in the Congress after Vaghela quit the party. Vaghela&#39;s exit was also preceded by cross-voting in BJP-majority Gujarat Assembly during the Presidential elections.

Vaghela claimed he would not join any other political party.

&quot;I am freeing myself of the Congress and every other party. I am not going to join any political party. I will quit as Leader of Opposition today. I will quit as MLA in the next sitting,&quot; he told supporters at his 77th birthday celebrations in Gandhinagar.

Alarmed by the resignation of six of its legislators in Gujarat, the Congress on Saturday approached the Election Commission and demanded a high-level probe into alleged poaching of MLAs by the BJP.

The party flew 44 of its remaining 51 MLAs in the state to Bengaluru.

The Congress accuses the&nbsp;BJP is using &quot;money, muscle and state power&quot; to engineer defections.

The Congress claimed Gujarat Rajya Sabha candidate Ahmed Patel will still win as he has the support of more MLAs than required

The Congress, which is battling an exodus of Gujarat lawmakers into the BJP, said on Monday that it was confident of its Gujarat Rajya Sabha candidate Ahmed Patel's victory in the Rajya Sabha elections, claiming that the senior Congress leader had the support of more legislators than required for victory. Even as he accused the BJP of "stealing" its MLAs under a "premeditated plan", senior Congress spokesperson Ghulam Nabi Azad said he was confident Ahmed Patel would win by a margin of 10-15 votes. "Ahmed bhai will win by a margin of at least 10 to 15 votes. Our candidate had 13-14 votes surplus and the BJP says they do not steal. Why has the BJP fielded its third candidate for the polls when it does not have the requisite number of MLAs in support. It is only to steal our MLAs," he said. "This is a pre-meditated plan to steal MLAs." He said the BJP was "plotting" to steal Congress MLAs from the airport itself. "The BJP is creating an atmosphere against them. They (BJP) are saying our MLAs are in Bengaluru when people are suffering because of floods. The BJP wants to exploit the situation so that when they return it could steal some of them and make a few others resign," he said. Ghulam Nabi Azad also clarified that Ahmed Patel was contesting the Rajya Sabha election as a senior Congress leader and not as political secretary to party chief Sonia Gandhi and thus, her name should not be dragged into this poll. "I don't want to involve the name of the Congress president. He is contesting as the senior Congress leader and not as political secretary," the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha said. He claimed Congress leaders and workers were on the ground, from block to district level, helping flood-hit people. Congress sources also told PTI that Ahmed Patel had also offered his Rajya Sabha seat to Sankarsingh Vaghela before he quit the party. Congress sources said Ahmed Patel was reluctant to fight the election but agreed after he was requested by the party. The Congress had 57 MLAs in the 182-member Assembly. Of these, six have quit since Thursday, bring down its strength to 51. Ahmed Patel requires 44 first preference votes for a straight win which seems easy to procure at the moment. More desertions could, however, jeopardise his chances of getting elected to the Upper House for the fifth time. He also has the assured support of two MLAs of the NCP and one of the JD(U). The BJP has fielded is chief Amit Shah and renominated federal minister Smriti Irani for two seats. It has fielded Balwantsinh Rajput for the third which is held by Patel. Ahmed Patel filed his nominations for the August 8 polls on July 26. Panic broke out in the Congress after Vaghela quit the party. Vaghela's exit was also preceded by cross-voting in BJP-majority Gujarat Assembly during the Presidential elections. Vaghela claimed he would not join any other political party. "I am freeing myself of the Congress and every other party. I am not going to join any political party. I will quit as Leader of Opposition today. I will quit as MLA in the next sitting," he told supporters at his 77th birthday celebrations in Gandhinagar. Alarmed by the resignation of six of its legislators in Gujarat, the Congress on Saturday approached the Election Commission and demanded a high-level probe into alleged poaching of MLAs by the BJP. The party flew 44 of its remaining 51 MLAs in the state to Bengaluru. The Congress accuses the BJP is using "money, muscle and state power" to engineer defections.

Rajya Sabha polls: Congress confident of Ahmed Patel's Gujarat seat

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The Ahmed Patel I knew

The return of Ahmed Patel

Rajya Sabha polls: Congress confident of Ahmed Patel's Gujarat seat