GANDHINAGAR, June 2:
Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Thursday joined the BJP in Gujarat, two weeks after quitting the Congress.
The move comes months ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, where the BJP seeks to retain power. Polls to the 182-member House are due by the end of this year.
Speaking to reporters later, Patel, once a vocal critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he joined the BJP without any expectation of getting a poll ticket and that he would serve as a “common worker” and “soldier” of the party. He also said that he left the Congress as it “does not respect people’s sentiments and distances itself from religious issues concerning crores of Hindus”.
Patel, 28, was welcomed into the party fold by BJP’s Gujarat unit president C R Paatil and former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel. His induction ceremony took place at BJP’s state unit headquarters ‘Kamalam’ here.
Patel had gained prominence in 2015 after he led the agitation seeking reservation for the Patidar community in the state.
He had joined the Congress in 2019 and was made the working president of its state unit in July 2020. However, he resigned from the party on May 18. Since then, speculation was rife that he might join the saffron party. On Tuesday, the BJP had announced that he would join the party on June 2.
Speaking at a press conference after joining the ruling party, Patel said, “BJP works in the interest of the nation and I will work as a common worker. Congress doesn’t respect the sentiments of people. That party used to distance itself from religious issues concerning crores of Hindus. That is the reason why I left Congress. I urge leaders of other parties to join BJP and contribute towards nation building.” (PTI)
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