Hardik Patel will have key role in polls, says Congress’s Gujarat in-charge

“Our aim is to form a Congress government in 2022 (the coming Assembly elections), and Hardik Patel will have a key role in it,” Raghu Sharma, incharge of Congress in Gujarat who was present at the Viramgam event, said. Asked about Hardik’s statements expressing unhappiness within the party, he added: “Hardik is the future and an inseparable, strong pillar of the Congress. He will continue to work for the party, his future is bright.”

The death anniversary of Hardik’s father Bharatbhai, who succumbed to Covid-19, saw recitation of Ram Dhun and Sundar Kand and Hindu priests from different sects.

Hardik Patel with Congress leaders at an event to mark his father’s death anniversary. (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)

The entire top leadership of the Gujarat Congress was present, including state president Jagdish Thakor, Leader of Opposition Sukhram Rathva, local Congress MLA Lakhabhai Bharwad, former Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, Dasada MLA Naushad Solanki and former state president Siddharth Patel.

Sharma greeted Hardik with a hug on his arrival. Sharma said that he and other party leaders came to attend the function since none of them could visit him as the death had happened during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Leaders of entire Congress, our national president Sonia Gandhi ji, our former president Rahul Gandhi ji and all the leaders have paid their tributes to Hardik’s father on his first death anniversary. Because he died last year during the Covid-19 pandemic, this could not be done. Today, on his first death anniversary we, the Congress family, are paying our sincere tributes to him,” Sharma said.