Ms Patel accused the Congress of being the hidden force behind the Patel agitation and its 22-year-old leader Hardik Patel.
Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel said while the Patel agitation led by Hardik Patel could have some impact on the Gujarat civic poll results, the party's relentless campaign had managed to woo back the Patidar community.
In an exclusive interview to NDTV, Anandiben Patel said that during the last days of civic polls campaigning, the party had managed to convince the Patidars that the agitation was politically motivated and that the Congress was fueling it.
"I do admit that some marginal impact the agitation could make, but in the last four-five days, the impact of the agitation has been diluted to a great extent. We have managed to woo back the misguided youths. I personally had one-on-one meetings with community elders and they were convinced that the agitation had been manipulated politically," Ms Patel said.
Ms Patel accused the Congress of being the hidden force behind the Patel agitation and its 22-year-old leader Hardik Patel. "We have reports that some days before the agitation began, they were in touch with Congress leaders and then when tickets were allotted to wives of those leaders, it established what we had been saying all along," she added.
On being asked if the party felt the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the campaigning, the 74-year-old chief minister said, "but the strong organization which he had left behind in the state ensures the party emerges victorious. We just walk on the roadmap which he has laid for us."
Ms Patel disagreed with reports that the party organization was seen disinterested and did not go full-throttle during the campaign. She said the party had contested the election as a one cohesive unit. "Every leader, every worker has carried out relentless work during the campaign and it's wrong to say that the party leadership was not keen," she added.
The two-phased civic polls in Gujarat registered over 50 per cent voter turnout. The counting will take place on December 2.