On Tuesday, Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who came to the spotlight by spearheading a quota stir in Gujarat, joined the Congress in the presence of Congress President Rahul Gandhi during the party’s Working Committee meet in Ahmedabad.
Gujarat: Patidar leader Hardik Patel joined Congress party today. pic.twitter.com/YAmQh8fTf9
— ANI (@ANI) March 12, 2019
Hardik Patel said, “Mahatma Gandhi initiated the Dandi March this day in an attempt to overthrow the British. I(Hardik Patel) am joining the same Congress party, which, in the past, has been led by Subhash Chandra Bose, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, the people who worked to strengthen our country.”
The 25 year old dynamic ‘Patidar’ leader of Gujarat, previously expressed his intention to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Jamnagar constituency of Gujarat.
Presently, the Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat is represented by Poonamben Maadam of the ruling BJP.
Previously, speaking to news agency PTI, Congress sources said: “Hardik Patel, who led the agitation demanding reservation for the Patidar community in Gujarat is likely to join the Congress on March 12 in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi.”
Gujarat is the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Congress had given a tough fight to the ruling BJP in the last assembly elections in the state.
Previously, Hardik Patel supported the Congress in the 2017 Gujarat assembly elections in which the party gave a stiff competition to the BJP, winning 81 out of 182 assembly seats.
The ruling BJP(Bharatiya Janata Party) had won all the 26 Lok Sabha seats in the states in the previous elections.