Gujarat: Will enter politics if community demands, says Naresh Patel

The community leader was talking to media persons in the city after a meeting of the core committee of Shree Khodaldham Trust (SKT), a religious organisation which has built a grand temple to goddess Khodiyar in Kagvad village near Rajkot district’s Gondal town. Goddess Khodiyar is the community deity of the Leuva Patel sub-caste group under the politically and economically influential Patidar community of Gujarat. Naresh Patel is the chairman of SKT. The temple was inaugurated in 2017 and the core committee met on Monday to discuss plans for celebrating the temple’s fifth anniversary.

In the past, Naresh Patel has asserted that every community wishes that its member should be the chief minister of the state and that the Patidar community is no different. (Express photo by Chirag Chotaliya)

Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convenor Alpesh Katheria and senior PAAS functionary Dinesh Bambhaniya, among others, are scheduled to meet the chief minister under the leadership of Naresh Patel. On Saturday, senior Congress leader Bharatsinh Solanki visited Khodaldham and held a closed-door meeting with Naresh.

Naresh insisted that he did not discuss politics with Solanki. He said that since his recovery from Covid-19, Solanki had been expressing a desire to visit Khodaldham and have a darshan of goddess Khodiyar and that the Congress leader’s visit on Saturday should be seen in that context.

Last month, BJP president CR Paatil had called on Naresh Patel and the two leaders, as per Patel’s media statement, discussed the issue of withdrawing criminal cases against Patidars and giving government jobs to nine Patidars who lost their lives during the quota stir.

In the past, Naresh Patel has asserted that every community wishes that its member should be the chief minister of the state and that the Patidar community is no different. Last month, he had asserted that Patidars should be occupying positions of village sarpanch to MP and should be holding posts ranging from clerk to district collector.

However, he insisted that he has no personal political ambition and said that as an organisation, Khodaldham has remained “neutral”. He said: “Since the time Khodaldham came into existence, you all friends have been witness to the fact that I have remained neutral and I am so even today. Leaders of the Congress, BJP and AAP visit Khodaldham. They all are accorded equal status and are treated well… Only my community shall decide whether I should join politics or not. Personally, I don’t have any intentions to join politics. No decision can be taken at this juncture. I shall abide by what the community orders.”

Leuva Patels are one of the largest organised voters’ groups in Saurashtra. Naresh Patel, a leading industrialist in Rajkot has emerged as an influential organiser of the community over the past decade. As chairman of SKT, he has hosted Narendra Modi when the latter was chief minister of Gujarat and other chief ministers, including Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupani, as well as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Naresh Patel said that he has completed a tour of districts in the Saurashtra region in the run up to the fifth patotsava (anniversary) of Khodaldham and was embarking on a tour of the rest of the state from Monday. He said Leuva Patels are settled in 30 out of the 33 districts of Gujarat and that he would tour all of the 30 districts in coming days.