Ahmed Patel's son thrilled about father's 'historic' victory

Thrilled about his father's victory in the Gujarat Rajya Sabha polls, Congress leader Ahmed Patel's son Faisal Patel termed it as "historic" and extended his wishes to the Congress party.

Speaking to ANI, Faisal said, "Yesterday was a historic day; I wish the Congress all the best in future".

Ahmed, who arrived in Delhi earlier in the day, said that he emerged victorious even when attempts were made to defeat him.

Speaking to ANI, the Congress leader said, "This is not any individual's win or about Ahmed Patel but the entire party, our MLAs and workers; morale further boosted. This is a big victory for us, tough election. Emerged victorious even when so many attempts were made to defeat us."

Yesterday, Ahmed said that the party's next target is the Gujarat Assembly election. He came to the national capital from Gujarat where he was camping for the Rajya Sabha elections.

Patel has retained his Rajya Sabha seat from Gujarat by winning 44 votes. Voting for the three Rajya Sabha seats was conducted on Tuesday.

Patel said that it is a big victory because efforts were made to ensure his defeat.

Congress had made candidature of Patel as a matter of prestige in the Rajya Sabha polls.

The BJP also left no stone unturned to win all the three seats. The saffron pitted Balwantsinh Rajput, a recent acquisition from the Congress, against Patel knowing that Patel's defeat will bring huge embarrassment for Sonia Gandhi since he is her political secretary.

Patel's victory has acted as booster for the Congress ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the state. The fourteenth legislative assembly election will be held in 2017 to elect members of the 182 constituencies in Gujarat as its tenure will end on January 22, 2018.

The grand old party is out of power in Gujarat since 1998.