Day before Gujarat polls, top Patidar leader Dinesh Bambhaniya quits Hardik Patel's PAAS

NEW DELHI: In a major setback to Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel, one of its senior leaders Dinesh Bambhaniya resigned from the party. 

Bambhaniya is the fourth leader to quit Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti. 

Patidar leader Dinesh Bambhaniya resigns from Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) (file pic) pic.twitter.com/nW1vcpHIJH — ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2017

He was the co-coordinator of PAAS and was one of the closest leaders to Hardik.

The development comes a day before the 182-member Gujarat assembly goes to polls in two phases, on 9th and 14th December. 

In November, other two leaders, Amrish and Ketan Patel, who were once close aides of Hardik Patel, joined the BJP.

He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with his supporters at the BJP party headquarters at 'Shree Kamalam'. Another former aide of Hardik, Chirag Patel, too quit PAAS to join the saffron party.

In March this year, Bambhaniya along with an accomplice was arrested from Mount Abu by the Rajkot police in a cheating case. Police claimed that Bambhaniya allegedly cheated his brother-in-law of Rs 1.97 crore on the pretext of helping him to get a bank loan for his business. 

Later in August, he and Patidar quota leader Hardik were detained in an 'assault' case registered against them in Patan town of North Gujarat.

On the basis of the complaint, a case was registered against them under IPC sections 395 (dacoity), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).