Gandhinagar: Congress leader and former Union minister Bharatsinh Solanki today expressed that he has no intention of participating in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

The 70-year-old, a former Gujarat Congress president, in a post on X, said, “My family and I have been given a lot by the Congress party over the decades. Considering my current responsibility as AICC in-charge Jammu & Kashmir and to effectively campaign for the party in Gujarat, I humbly convey to the high command my wish not to contest this election. Nevertheless, as a lifelong soldier of INC India, I will accept and obey whatever decision is made by the Central leadership.”

My family and I have been given a lot by the Congress party over the decades. Considering my current responsibility as AICC in-charge Jammu & Kashmir and to be able to effectively campaign for the party in Gujarat, I humbly convey to the high command of my wish not to contest…

— Bharat Solanki (@BharatSolankee) March 12, 2024

Solanki had faced consecutive defeats in the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls against BJP candidates. In the 2019 elections, he was defeated by BJP’s Mitesh Patel in the Anand seat by a substantial margin.

Bharatsinh Solanki is not the first Gujarat Congress leader wanting to refrain from contesting in the Lok Sabha election. Earlier on Monday, another former Gujarat Congress President, Jagdish Thakor, also stated in a video post his intention not to fight the Lok Sabha election.

In a Twitter post, Jagdish Thakor stated, “The party has given me much for several years – two-time MLA, three-time Lok Sabha Talkuka Yuva Congress Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee President, and even after the unfavorable election, the party kept me in CWC. For the past 2-3 months, regional and national leaders have been asking me to fight elections. I had discussions with social and political dignitaries, and as per Rahul Gandhi’s vision of bringing young faces into the party, I, from my own heart, have decided not to fight the elections.” Health conditions are also one of the reasons that the former GPCC president attributed to the decision.

लोकसभा चुनाव पर मेरा बयान।
#gujarat #Elections2024 #congress #inc pic.twitter.com/gPGCTTpoN9

— Jagdish Thakor (@jagdishthakormp) March 11, 2024