Hardik Patel to join BJP on June 2: Party spokesperson
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Ahmedabad: Hardik Patel who hogged media a few years ago criticizing BJP during Paditar agitation quit Congress the other day, and the 28-year-old is poised to join BJP shortly.
Since joining the party in 2019, Hardik Patel was a star campaigner of the Congress for polls in many states.
Now a BJP spokesperson for Gujarat said Patel would join BJP on June 2 in the presence of CR Paatil, the BJP state president.
Speculations have been rife about Patel's possible switching over to BJP, in spite of himself.
Showing signs of his fling for BJP, Hardik Patel earlier praised BJP's decision-making capacity and style of functioning.
On the other hand, he wouldn't mince words while criticizing BJP and sat down to write a searing letter to Sonia Gandhi.
He said in the letter that the Congress played the 'role of a roadblock' to key issues in the country.
Responding to Patel's desertion, the Congress leaders in Gujarat opened scathing attack on the young leader, calling him "dishonest" and "opportunist".
They accused him of being touch with BJP for the last six years in order to get the cases slapped against him during Patidar agitation withdrawn.
Senior Congress leader of Gujarat Shaktisinh Gohil accused Patel of betraying the Patidar community for personal gains.
The state congress in-charge said the Congress made a him a star campaigner for polls to five states where he criticized BJP, adding he asked, " What has changed suddenly?"
"When you started the Patidar quota agitation, you had put forward several demands for the community. How many demands were fulfilled by the government? So for what sort of personal gains you are betraying your community and going there (BJP)," asked the Rajya Sabha MP from Gujarat.
Patel had gained prominence in 2015 after he led the agitation seeking reservation for the Patidar community in the state.
After joining the party three years ago, Patel was made the Gujarat Congress working president in July 2020.
With inputs from PTI
