41-year-old MlA from Amreli constituency in Saurashtra region Paresh Dhanani on Monday formally took charge as leader of Opposition in presence of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Bharatsinh Solanki and other senior Congress leaders.
Dhanani who belongs to leuva Patidar community is the third time MlA and handpicked by All India Congress Committee (AICC) Rahul Gandhi for the most coveted post in the Opposition party. Strategically Congress leadership put a Patidar leader to woo the powerful community in the upcoming lok Sabha polls scheduled to be held in May 2019. In the assembly elections held in December 2017, Congress improved its tally in Gujarat legislative Assembly from 60 to 77 compared to 2012 polls thanks to pro-quota Patidar agitation led by 24-year –old Hardik Patel. In fact in the Patidar dominated districts including Amreli, Gir Somnath and Junagadh Congress bags all most all the assembly seats.
After taking charge as leader of Opposition, Dhanani said that like his predecessors, he would raise the voice of people in the House. He went on to say that, he will work to end the BJP rule and in the next assembly polls Congress would definitely form the Government.
Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Madhusudan Mistry, former loP in Gujarat assembly Arjun Modhvadia and Shaktisinh Gohil as well as large number of supporters also remained present when the Congress leader took charge.