Gujarat Assembly elections 2017: My campaign is against BJP, people will make right choice, says Hardik Patel

“They (BJP) call me an agent. I am saying, I am an agent. I am not a Congress agent, but I am the agent of the people. I will amplify the voice of the people, so that those high on power can hear these stifled voices. My campaign is not for the Congress. It is against the BJP. So, I am telling the community to stick to their stand and recall their resentment against the BJP, and not vote for the BJP. But, I am not telling anyone to vote for the Congress. People are perceptive and they will make the right choice,” the Patidar leader said. Young Gujarat voters take stock of emerging young leaders; Hardik, Alpesh, Jignesh don’t impress all

Days after the PAAS core-committee met state Congress leaders last week over a set of demands raised by the Patidar outfit, Hardik said his community is waiting for the Congress’ response to two of their six demands, including reservation under the OBC quota for the Patidars.

Hardik said, “They (Congress) have agreed to four of our six points. Their response has been positive.We have given them the time they sought to consider our main demand for OBC reservation, as they need to study the issue before making a commitment. Once they give us their response on the issue, we shall take things forward. But, it will still not mean that I will join the Congress. The community will be in open support of the party.” He is likely to meet senior Congress leader and Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal on November 6 to discuss reservation for the Patidar under the OBC category.

Reacting to the Patidar Organisation Committee (POC) — a group of six leading Patidar outfits — allegation that he has transformed the “Patidar anamat andolan” into his “personal anamat andolan”, Hardik called the committee a “khatla parishad” and a “phoney” organisation backed by the BJP. The six organisations comprising the POC are Umiya Mataji Sansthan (Unjha), Umiya Mataji Sansthan (Sidsar), Samast Patidar Samaj (Surat), Khodaldham Trust (Kagvad), Vishva Umiya Foundation (Ahmedabad) and Sardardham (Ahmedabad). These outfits had in September held truce talks with the state government and recently announced Rs 20 lakh compensation for the families of each of the 14 Patidar youths killed in the quota violence.

“We (Patidars) have only two supreme organisations — the Unjha Umiya Dham (or Umiya Mataji Sansthan of the Kadva Patidars) and Khodaldham in Kagvad (of the Leuva Patidars). Both these organisations have been backing me and our agitation since the beginning. They have released a statement on Wednesday to dismiss the allegations made by the other groups, and to clarify that they are very much part of our agitation,” he claimed.

The PAAS convener further said: “The BJP is flustered as it knows that the community has genuine resentment… They remember that in 2015 (local body polls), the Patels voted for the Congress and threw out BJP from district panchayats. They (BJP) know it can happen in the Assembly polls too, so, they are raising these splinter groups to counter the real agitation and mislead people. But, people are intelligent.”