Will not fight next LS polls, says Union Minister Dinsha Patel

Five times Lok Sabha MP and Union Mines Minister Dinsha Patel today said that he would not contest in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
The minister also told reporters that he has already informed the party (Congress) leadership about the decision.
"I have conveyed to my party (Congress) that I will not fight the next elections, they should give chance to some other person from this constituency. I will help the party win the seat, whoever might be the candidate," Patel said adding that he had informed the party about the decision around six months back.
Patel's announcement comes as a blow to the Congress as despite the BJP wave sweeping the state, Patel emerged as the winner in Kheda constituency. The senior Congress leader is considered to be a strong pillar of the party in the central Gujarat region.

According to party sources, the 76-year-old leader has decided not to contest the polls due to his old age.
Before he was elected to the Lok Sabha, Patel was a five time MLA and was also a minister in Congress government between 1990 and 1995.
Patel's decision has created a flutter in the political circles here, as the the ruling BJP has set a target of winning all the 26 Lok Sabha seats of Gujarat, the home state of their prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
However, the Congress sources said that the final decision about his retirement from electoral politics will be taken by the party high command.