Gujarat Hardlook | Patidar agitation: A fight for reservation and recognition

A group of youths of Patidar community began its quiet agitation in various parts of Gujarat, organising public rallies and submitting memoranda to district collectors, seeking Other Backward Class (OBC) status for the Patidar community. Although the movement started subtly, it gained national attention with the August 25 public meeting. A significant turning point came on July 23, 2015, when one such rally in Mehsana district’s Visnagar turned violent. Protesters vandalised and set ablaze the office of local BJP MLA Rushikesh Patel, bringing the movement into the spotlight.

The agitation which initially started under the banner of Sardar Patel Group (SPG) of Mehsana, led by Lalji Patel, was quickly eclipsed by the the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) — formed by Hardik Patel and his fellow Patidar agitators.

A former PAAS leader said that they parted ways with SPG since it was not in favour of aggressively pursuing the agitation after the Visnagar incident.

Hardik, not much known then, was one of the accused in the criminal case registered for Visnagar arson and vandalisation. Years later, Hardik was convicted in the case. A criminal appeal against the sessions court order is pending before Gujarat High Court.

After Visnagar, another rally which caught people’s attention in Surat was carried out on August 17 when members of PAAS, led by Hardik, marched from Dharukawala college in Varachha to the Surat district collector’s office at Athwalines, covering 6 km. Patidar youths active in PAAS then said that before carrying out the rally they had made preparations to garner support and make the rally a success by holding meetings with diamond and textile businessmen and education institutions in Surat and residents of Patidar-dominated areas.

And then came the big day, August 25, 2015, when the huge public meeting was held at the GMDC ground. The meeting was addressed by Hardik Patel, who also announced to sit on a strike at the venue, and was joined by the protesters in huge numbers. However, late in the evening, following a police crackdown on the agitators at the venue, a number of areas of Ahmedabad city witnessed violent clashes between police and agitators. Hardik was detained by police, but was later released.

All this while, the then state government led by CM Anandiben Patel maintained that under the constitutional provisions and precedents set by the Supreme Court of India, the Patidar community could not be given OBC status.

The GMDC rally and subsequent police action on agitators spread the agitation like a wild fire resulting in riots in many parts of the state. For the first time after the 2002 Gujarat riots, curfew was imposed and the internet was suspended in many parts of the state. During this time Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Vijapur, Unjha, Morbi and Surat emerged as the hotspots of the agitation.

The clashes following the August 25 rally led to the filing of hundreds of criminal cases against the agitators. The violence claimed the lives of 14 Patidars across Gujarat. The cases registered against Patidar agitators included two sedition cases against Hardik and his fellow agitators; one each in Ahmedabad and Surat. He was first arrested in October 2015 from Rajkot after he threatened to disrupt a cricket match between India and South Africa in Rajkot.

Political dynamics

The BJP faced the initial electoral repercussions of the agitation in the November-December 2015 local body polls. The Opposition Congress capitalised on the agitation, regaining lost ground, particularly in rural areas. They secured victories in 23 out of 31 district panchayats and approximately 150 of the 230 taluka panchayats. These elections served as a precursor to the 2017 assembly elections.

The impact of Patidar agitation was felt emphatically in the 2017 assembly elections when the opposition Congress showed a revival by winning 77 seats and the BJP came down to a historically low tally of 99. The BJP could form the government by a slander margin. During the run up to the assembly elections, like during the 2015 local body polls, the BJP faced stiff opposition from the Patidar community. At many places, the agitating Patidars had banned entry of BJP politicians in their areas for campaigning. The Patidar women were aggressively disrupting the ruling party’s events by clanking rolling pins with steel plates.

In the run up to the assembly elections, the BJP tried doing damage control by inducting leading names of the agitation in the party such as Varun Patel, Reshma Patel, Ketan Patel, Chirag Patel to name a few.

Una flogging case and CM’s resignation

Even as the talks between the agitators and Gujarat government continued with several organisations trying to broker peace, the list of demands, apart from the reservation, also grew with demands of jobs for the next of kin of the 14 Patidars killed in the agitation and withdrawal of criminal cases registered during the agitation. The demand for inclusion of Patidar community among the list of Other Backward Class communities had also been modified to reservation for economically weaker sections of the unreserved communities.

The state government sought to pacify the Patidar community, traditionally a key vote bank, by taking steps to address their concerns. On May 1, 2016, the government promulgated an ordinance providing 10% reservation in education and government jobs for economically weaker sections in the general category. However, the Gujarat High Court struck down the ordinance in August 2016.

Meanwhile, around this time, another agitation of the Dalit community rocked Gujarat after seven members of a family were publicly flogged by self-styled cow vigilantes allegedly for skinning a dead cow in Gir-Somnath district’s Una on July 11, 2016. Even as the state government was under fire from different quarters, the then Chief Minister Anandiben Patel resigned from the post on August 1, 2016 citing that she was soon going to be 75 and the party’s tradition of senior leaders stepping down at that age. Anandiben posted her resignation letter on Facebook and then met the Governor O P Kohli. In a dramatic turn of events, the BJP chose the then cabinet minister and state BJP president, Vijay Rupani, as the next CM and senior minister Nitin Patel as the deputy CM.

The agitation got its result in January 2019 when the Narendra Modi led Union government passed a Constitution amendment Bill to provide up to 10 % reservation to the EWS among non-OBC and non-SC/ST sections in education and public employment sectors. The amendment was upheld by a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court in November 2022. With that, the agitation came to a close with its principal demand achieved.

In March 2019, Hardik joined Congress in the presence of party leader Rahul Gandhi. Before joining Congress, he relieved himself from the PAAS while handing over the responsibility to Alpesh Kathiriya of Surat. Soon, he was appointed the party’s working president in the state unit. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Hardik emerged as the Congress party’s star campaigner, who was even allotted a helicopter to campaign. However, in less than two years, the discord between the leader and the party became evident. In February 2021, in an interview with The Indian Express, Hardik alleged that the party was not using him enough and that its leaders might be wanting to pull him down. Hardik eventually resigned from the Congress in May 2022.

In June 2022, Hardik joined BJP in the presence of state party president C R Paatil and former deputy CM Nitin Patel. Hardik was given a party ticket to contest the 2022 assembly elections from Viramgam.

Meanwhile, withdrawal of all the criminal cases registered against Patidars during the agitation, including the two of sedition charges, remained a point of tussle between the agitators and the state government. In February 2025, CM Bhupendra Patel-led Gujarat government announced that it will be withdrawing the nine serious cases registered during the agitation, including the two sedition cases.

Dinesh Bambhaniya, the leading agitator from PAAS, said that most of the cases registered during the agitation have been withdrawn and some cases have not been withdrawn for technical reasons. “For that, we are making efforts to expedite the process,” he said.

Agitation to ambition: The journey of Patidar leaders

The 2015 Patidar quota agitation, marked by a massive rally in Ahmedabad on August 25, not only pushed for OBC reservation but also catapulted key leaders into the political spotlight. The Indian Express tracked down some of the key leaders of the movement who were then associated with the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS):

Dinesh Bambhaniya (44), social worker

Dinesh Bambhaniya, a close confidant of Hardik Patel, was among the core members of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which was formed days before the massive public meeting in Ahmedabad. Bambhaniya said that he was among the five persons who formed the PAAS. According to Bambhaniya, the BJP was wiped out from almost all district panchayats and in the elections held later that year, because of the quota agitation. “It also brought a huge embarrassment to the BJP-led state government nationally as they were in power for so many years and yet a prominent community was out on roads seeking reservation (on economic grounds). Their (BJP’s) tall claims were seriously affected”, said Bambhaniya. Bambhaniya, who is not attached with any political party, calls himself a “social worker”. “I think the biggest benefit of the agitation was the unity of Leuva and Kadva sub-castes of the Patidar community. They have become one now.” Bambhaniya said that currently he is leading a campaign against elopement and marriages of young girls without the consent of their parents. “It is our demand that marriage should not be registered without the parents’ consent and if there is some legal issue in doing that, then it should be done in the woman’s village after giving a 30-day notice to her parents. We are doing Jan Samarthan Yatra across the state to spread awareness about the issue,” Bambhaniya said.

Varun Patel (43), Gujarat BJP media team member

Varun Patel, a current member of the Gujarat BJP’s media team, previously served as the media coordinator and spokesperson for PAAS. “I performed the role till all the noted leaders of the agitation were arrested and jailed. After that, I handled the programmes of the agitation for eight months. I revived the agitation gathering workers from across the state,” said Varun. He joined the BJP ahead of the crucial 2017 Gujarat assembly elections. “The major impact of the agitation was that it changed the politics of Gujarat as before that nobody dared to question the government…but later every community got a moral strength to question the government. After the Patidar andolan, the state politics became competitive. The agitation also gave many young leaders,” he said. “… had I not been part of the agitation, my identity (in BJP) would have been that of a common party worker. But today, my identity is bigger than a minister. A big section of the society knows me”. Varun is currently part of a campaign against elopement and marriages of young girls against the consent of their parents and other issues such as implementing 10% EWS in local body polls, preserving the historic legacy of Karamsad connected with Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel etc. Recently, he called a meeting of various Patidar groups on these issues.

Reshma Patel (40), AAP women wing state chief

She was the woman face of the Patidar quota agitation. “The agitation started with a bang. Then I was a mere spectator. However, when the top leaders were arrested, a point came when the agitation started dying. And then I decided to join it and started a hunger strike for 21 days, demanding the release of the leaders. I participated in a number of anti-BJP programmes and campaigns. I was also arrested in a case and stayed in jail for one month,” said Reshma Patel. “The Patidar agitation was a community’s agitation. However, it had an impact on all the communities. It brought awareness among other communities as well. It is due to this agitation that Gujarat got self-made leaders from different communities. People have realised that they will have to raise their voice to get their rights,” she added. She asserted that she owes her identity as a political leader to the agitation. “It is difficult to become such a well-known person in such a short time. Now, government officials take me seriously, and they have to listen to what I say. It is all due to the Patidar agitation,” she said. In 2017, like Varun Patel, Reshma Patel, too, had joined the BJP ahead of the assembly elections. Later, she quit the BJP and joined the Nationalist Congress Party and is now with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Manoj Panara (45), Congress state general secretary

As a close aide of Hardik Patel, Manoj played a key role in leading the Morbi leg of the agitation in Saurashtra, one of the movement’s hotspots. “I was part of the agitation from the start, organising a major rally in Morbi and attending the August 25, 2015, public meeting in Ahmedabad with around 80 vehicles. Following the clashes that ensued, I was named as the main accused in about 8-10 cases in Morbi, arrested, and spent one-and-a-half months in jail before being granted bail by the Gujarat High Court,” said Manoj. According to Manoj, he was with Hardik in October 2015 when the PAAS threatened to disrupt the cricket match between India and South Africa in Rajkot as part of the agitation. Hardik was slapped with a case of insulting the tricolour while trying to reach the stadium disguised as a farmer. The case was later withdrawn by the state government. Manoj said that when Hardik was arrested, he had carried out Patidar Ekta Yatra from Umiya Mata Temple in Sidsar of Jamnagar to Khodaldham in Rajkot, covering the entire Saurashtra region. “Every agitation gives birth to new leaders. And similarly, following the Patidar agitation, Gujarat saw emergence of leaders like Hardik, Alpesh Thakor, Jignesh Mevani etc. The agitation’s biggest achievement was securing 10% reservation for EWS,” he said. Manoj had joined Congress along with Hardik before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, unlike Hardik, Manoj did not join the BJP and chose to stay back. He said that at this point he developed differences with Hardik and they parted ways. Manoj was also appointed the state general secretary of Congress in Gujarat. “However, recently, I have orally informed the party to relieve me of that responsibility. I want to be active socially rather than politically. But my heart is very much with Congress,” he said.

Dharmik Malaviya, 31, BJP member

As one of the co-convenors of PAAS, he played a crucial role in organising the movement. “Hardik Patel was facing pressure not to attend the August 17, 2015 meeting in Surat city. We, all co-convenors, hatched a plan and got him to reach the Mini Bazaar area, where he was taken atop an open decorated tempo. The Surat team of co-convenors was given the responsibility of carrying out the meeting at the GMDC ground in Ahmedabad. We all worked hard, keeping in mind security arrangements and awareness among the community people,” he said. He also thinks the agitation united the Kadva and Leuva Patidars, and after the agitation, both the Congress and the BJP are giving more importance to Patidars. “Our agitation had helped the Congress in the 2017 elections win 77 seats,” said Malaviya, who joined the AAP in 2022, and unsuccessfully contested the Olpad assembly seat in Surat. In 2024, he joined the BJP. He describes the Mukhyamantri Yuva Swavalamban Yojana (MYSY) scheme as one of the biggest gains of the Patidar agitation, from which not only Patidars but also other communities benefited. “We were fighting against the ruling BJP government. We were secretly receiving support from the Congress during our agitation. We came in contact with political leaders and had good chemistry with them. We supported the Congress candidate in the local and assembly elections. Later, we had a conflict with a Congress leader over ticket distribution in the 2016 Surat Municipal corporation election. In the 2021 civic body election, we supported the AAP, as a result of which for the first time AAP got 27 candidates elected in the Surat Municipal Corporation elections,” he said. Malaviya claims he continues to be an accused in 12 cases booked during the agitation, while the rest were withdrawn.

Alpesh Katheriya, 31, BJP member

He says he was among the key planners of the Surat rally: “Hardik Patel had no support from SPG (The Sardar Patel Group). It was the Surat rally that gave a boost to the Patidar movement. Initially, I was a co-convenor of PAAS, but after Hardik Patel’s imprisonment in Surat in 2016, I took on full responsibility for the organisation and carried the movement forward across the state. Since 2017, I have been serving as the convenor of PAAS in Gujarat,” he said. Katheriya joined the AAP in 2022 and unsuccessfully contested the Varachha assembly seat in Surat. Two years later, he joined the BJP. “For 30 years prior to the movement, Gujarat hadn’t witnessed a social movement of this magnitude. The agitation drew 10 to 12 lakh people to various meetings, showcasing the Patidar community’s collective strength to the state’s political parties, which they had earlier neglected. The Patidars were given tickets in the elections of the local body, state body, and national body,” he said. “At the time, we were young and inexperienced in politics, but as the public face of the movement, we gained popularity. Initially, we didn’t have political aspirations, but later realised that to truly benefit our community, we needed representation within the political parties.” Katheriya said he faced 21 cases, including two sedition cases. Eleven cases are still going on in the courts, while the remaining have been withdrawn. Among the two sedition cases, one case has been withdrawn while the other is still going on in the court,” he said.