Its leaders having migrated to electoral politics, the Patidar agitation spearhead, PAAS, is about to wind up

Replying to a question regarding the current status of PAAS while speaking with The Indian Express, Malaviya said, “Currently, there is no status. There are talks of many PAAS members joining AAP from various districts. Most of the people (associated with PAAS) have taken one political stand or another. Around 5-7 of us had remained unattached with any political party. Now that we too have joined AAP, we’re thinking of what to do with PAAS. Winding it up is one of the options we are exploring.”

Malaviya said they will now try to politically resolve the two demands of PAAS—government or quasi-government jobs for the families of the 14 Patidars who were killed in the quota agitation, and withdrawal of criminal cases registered against community members during the agitation.

One of the prominent women faces of PAAS, Reshma Patel, was among the first to leave the organisation and join a political party. Reshma had joined the BJP ahead of the 2017 Assembly elections, along with another senior PAAS member Varun Patel. Yet another senior member and a close confidante of Hardik, Chirag Patel, also joined the BJP.

Reshma quit the BJP after developing serious differences with it, and is now with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). In these Assembly elections, she may contest from one of the constituencies in Saurashtra. Varun and Chirag, though, have stuck with the BJP.

On the other hand, Hardik had joined the Congress ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and was later appointed working president of the Gujarat Congress. However, he quit the party on a bitter note in May this year, and within days, joined the BJP on June 2.

Interestingly, with Varun, Chirag and Hardik all coming from the Viramgam region of Ahmedabad district, all three have staked a claim for the Viramgam ticket.

While leading PAAS members have chosen different parties as their future course in their political careers, all of them seem to be angry at their one-time leader, Hardik Patel.

Varun said, “Yes, I have claimed the BJP ticket from Viramgam. We believe nobody who has recently joined the party should be given a ticket. The party should not give tickets to any tainted person, or those without any acceptability. If such a situation arises, it will send the wrong message to party workers, not only on that particular seat, but on 25 more seats. It will bring down the morale of party workers.”

According to Varun, with Katheriya joining AAP, PAAS has become dormant, and that it may only be reformed after the Assembly elections.

On her part, Reshma said, “People, including Hardik, have sought (BJP) tickets from Viramgam constituency. But, I think BJP will give the ticket to one of its old members from the area. For Hardik, I can only say that he has devalued himself by seeking a ticket from the BJP. In the Congress, he was distributing tickets. Here, he has joined a long queue seeking the party ticket [from Viramgam].”

Malaviya described his differences with Hardik in a more polite tone. He said he did not like Hardik’s decision to join the BJP. “Ideologically, we are different. But we’re together in so far as the community’s welfare is concerned.”

On condition of anonymity, a BJP member who has staked his claim for the party ticket from Viramgam, said old timers have told the BJP decision makers to give the ticket to anyone among them, but not to Hardik.

When contacted about PAAS, Hardik said, “I have left PAAS long ago after handing it over to Alpesh Katheriya. What happens with PAAS is now his worry. I’m no longer connected with it.”

About him seeking the BJP ticket from Viramgam, Hardik said, “Naturally, every person demanding a ticket from the party must be doing so from their own Assembly.”

Asked about the criticism of his former PAAS colleagues for seeking the BJP ticket from Viramgam, he added, “I am not aware of this. Every person has a right to say anything. I don’t speak against anybody.”

In the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections, PAAS was a strong influence. Many believe it was due to the influence of the Patidar agitation under PAAS that the BJP was reduced to a historic low, winning only 99 out of 182 seats in the Gujarat Assembly that year. Opposition Congress was the clear beneficiary, winning 77 seats, its best performance in Gujarat since 1998.

In the last two Assembly elections, Viramgam has been won by the Congress. In 2017, it also won some of the Patidar-dominated seats that were traditional BJP bastions, like Unjha, Patan, Morbi, Dhoraji, Tankara and Jam Jodhpur.