Hardik Patel, a former Congress leader and once a staunch critic of BJP, will join BJP today. Patel is joining the party at a time when the Gujarat Assembly elections are due later this year. BJP has been in power in the state for more than two decades. After resigning from the Congress, he had strongly criticized the Congress leadership, while praising the BJP’s ability to take decisions and its working style. Hardik Patel had joined the Congress in 2019 and was later made the working president of the state unit. Elections are going to be held in Gujarat in the next few months. Know how was Hardik’s political journey.
Hardik had come in the discussion with the Patidar movement
Hardik Patel, 28, came into the limelight in 2015 during an agitation demanding reservation for members of the Patidar community in government jobs and educational institutions. He led this movement. Ten people, including a policeman, were killed and public properties and vehicles were badly damaged in the violence during the agitation. Subsequently, a case was registered against Patel under sections 124 (A), 121 (A) and 120 (B) of the Indian Penal Code and he is on bail since 2016. The BJP government has also recently taken steps to withdraw several cases registered against Hardik Patel and others in connection with the 2015 quota agitation.
Patel created Navnirman Sena
Patel Navnirman Sena was formed on 9 September 2015 by Hardik Patel to include Kurmi, Partydar and Gujjar community in OBC and to get them government jobs. On 18 October this year, Hardik Patel was accused of insulting the national flag and after the registration of the case, he had to face jail for a few days.
Support to Congress in Gujarat elections
Hardik Patel supported the Congress in the year 2017 before joining the Congress. In this assembly election, apart from Hardik Patel, Congress had entered the field with full enthusiasm with the help of Alpesh Thakor and Jignesh Mevani. Although Thakor later joined the BJP, he was defeated in the by-election.
join congress
Hardik Patel had joined the Congress in the presence of the then party president Rahul Gandhi during the Congress Working Committee meeting in Ahmedabad in March 2019.
The stains of riots, could not contest the Lok Sabha elections
Hardik Patel was convicted by a sessions court in July 2018 in the Mehsana riots case. After this, Hardik had approached the Gujarat High Court and sought a stay on the conviction, but the High Court rejected his petition and he could not contest the elections. Later, Hardik moved the Supreme Court, but he did not get any relief from there too.
Working President of Gujarat Congress
In July 2020, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi appointed Hardik Patel as the working president of the state unit, giving a big boost to the party in Gujarat. Patel had then said, “As working president of Gujarat Congress, I have been given a challenging responsibility. This also makes it clear that the party promotes people from ordinary backgrounds and in 2022, Congress will come to power with a two-thirds majority.” I will come.”
resigned from Congress
Giving a big blow to the Congress ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, state working president Hardik Patel announced his resignation from the party on May 5. Hardik Patel had alleged that Congress is not interested in Gujarat, it is only opposing policies and programmes. The party is not becoming the alternative that people are looking for. The party failed to work in the national interest and for the society.
The members of the Patidar movement made allegations of corruption
Bhavesh Somani, who was once an aide of Hardik Patel from Bhavnagar, had said that he had thrown ‘slippers’ on the then Union Minister of State Mansukh Mandaviya on the instructions of Hardik Patel. Somani also made serious allegations of corruption against Hardik Patel. He said that Hardik had taken a bribe of Rs 23 lakh for giving ticket for the Gariadhar assembly constituency elections in 2017. “Rs 10 lakh was given to his father Bharatbhai in his Ahmedabad flat and the rest was paid through Angadiya Services in two installments,” Somani said.
How many cases have been filed against Hardik?
- Two sedition cases registered in Ahmedabad and Surat
- Sedition case after rally violence in 2015
- Arrest from Ahmedabad in 2015