Know Your Candidate: Hardik Patel, candidate from Viramgam of BJP

The BJP has upset many of its workers after releasing the list of candidates for the upcoming Gujarat Legislative Assembly Elections. Workers are upset because the BJP has denied tickets to 38 sitting legislators and is fielding new faces, including former Congress members and non-locals. Hardik Patel is one of the many names of Congress defectors who have received BJP tickets.

Hardik Patel is an Indian politician and social activist. He notably came into light in July 2015, when he led the ‘Patidar reservation agitation’ which seeks status for OBC (Other Backward Class) in Patidar caste. Patidars makes up to around 18-19% of Gujarat’s population and clasps influence over 40 seats in the 182-members of state assembly. He was serving as ‘Working President’ of the ‘Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee’ the state unit of INC in Gujarat after joining ‘Indian National Congress’ in 2020. Being harsh critic, he left INC in May 2022 and eventually join ‘Bhartiya Janta Party’ in June 2022.

Hardik Patel was born on 20 July 1993, in a Gujarati Patidar family. Hardik Patel is raised in financially poor environment and his father; Bharat was a Congress worker. In 2013, Hardik Patel completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sahajanand College, Ahmedabad from where he contested for the post of General Secretary of the college Student’s Union and was elected unopposed.

Ahmedabad is the fifth most populous city and urban agglomeration and it has emerged as an important economic and industrial hub in India. It is an administrative headquarters of Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad encompasses 10 Assembly Constituencies which are Viramgam, Sanand, Ghatlodia, Vejalpur, Vatva, Ellisbridge, Naranpura, Nikol, Naroda, Thakkarbapanagar. The candidate’s list for these constituencies by various political parties have been announced for upcoming Gujarat’s Legislative Assembly Elections. Hardik Patel will be contesting in the field of Gujarat’s Legislative Assembly Elections of 2022 for the seat of Viramgam, Ahmedabad from BJP.

Hardik Patel promoted the campaign of Indian National Congress in 2017 of Gujarat’s Legislative Assembly Elections. In March 2019, he joined Indian National Congress. In 2019 Indian General Elections, while he was targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he made some harsh remarks on people of Nepal which were termed as racist. He made some accusations on the leadership of INC and praised the work of BJP and for this action he was expelled from the party for anti-party activities on May 16, 2022. He was strident opposition of BJP in his political career from the beginning yet he eventually joined ‘Bhartiya Janta Party’ on June 02, 2022.

Hardik Patel is booked for many lawsuits like insulting national flag of India, sedation case and rioting, damage to property to unlawful assembly.

–An article by Shivani Gadre