Following the debacle of the Congress party in recently concluded elections in 5 states, the grand old party has braced itself for the upcoming Gujarat Elections 2022. Gujarat Election 2022 is slated to take place late this year and political parties have started making strategies in order to claim the thrown. The political parties are doing everything to woo leaders with a strong foothold in the dominant communities of Gujarat. Like the other political parties, Congress too has adopted the same strategy. As per a report, Congress has offered Naresh Patel to be their 'CM Face' of Gujarat in the upcoming state elections.
As per a report, 'CM face' is on the cards for Naresh Patel as the Congress party is trying hard to pursue the tallest Leuva Patidar leader in the state. Not only this, reports also suggest that poll strategist and Indian Political Action Committee (IPAC) founder Prashant Kishor is in talks with Congress. Prashant Kishor is expected to get a 'major role' in the Gujarat Elections. Congress is looking to bank big on Naresh Patel and Prashant Kishor. While the Congress has offered Patel CM post, the grand old party might ask Kishor to come up with 'poll-winning' strategy. It is pertinent to mention here that Naresh Patel is yet to join the Congress, however, the report suggests that Leuva Patidar leader might join the party in the presence of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Notably, not only the Congress party, BJP, AAP, and many more are trying to woo Naresh Patel to join their party ahead of Gujarat Elections. Now, those who are wondering who is Naresh Patel and why almost every political parties want him by their side can read further:
Who is Naresh Patel?
56-years-old Naresh Patel has emerged as the tallest Leuva Patidar leader in the state. Leuva Patidars or Patels, a sub-group of the numerically strong and politically influential Patidar community concentrated mainly in the Saurashtra region, holds sway over 48 out of Gujarat’s total 182 Assembly seats. Naresh Patel is also an industrialist as he is the chairman of the Shree Khodaldham Trust (SKT), which manages the grand temple of Goddess Khodiyar, the patron deity of the Leuva Patidar community, at Kagvad near Rajkot.
He is also the Managing Director (MD) of Patel Brassworks (PBW), a Rajkot-headquartered firm founded by his father Ravjibhai Undhad in 1948, which currently manufactures engine components with applications ranging from automobiles to aircraft. In his younger days, Patel wanted to join the armed forces but instead joined his family business on his father’s direction.