Hardik Patel set to join BJP today, says `I will work as small soldier under leadership of PM Modi`

Hardik Patel catapulted to the political centre stage in 2015 when he spearheaded the Patidar reservation stir in Gujarat, building the campaign in the run-up of the 2017 state Assembly elections.

Gandhinagar: Gujarat Patidar leader Hardik Patel is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday. The youth leader, who recently quit Congress, said that he will work as a "small soldier" to serve the nation under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

Expressing his thoughts on social media, Patel tweeted "With the feelings of national interest, state interest, public interest and social interest, I am going to start a new chapter from today. I will work as a small soldier in the noble work of service to the nation under the leadership of the successful Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi."

Posters welcoming Hardik Patel to the BJP were put outside the party office in Gandhinagar.  Hardik catapulted to the political centre stage in 2015 when he spearheaded the Patidar reservation stir in Gujarat, building the campaign in the run-up of the 2017 state Assembly elections.

Initially, he demanded the OBC status for the Patidar community, but it was later transformed into a demand for reservations for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS). 

The then BJP-led Gujarat government of Anandiben Patel accused Hardik of fomenting trouble and slapped cases during the Patidar quota agitation. His emergence on the political scene in the state put the then Chief Minister Anandiben Patel in a spot and she announced her resignation from the post . In 2016, Anandiben Patel .

Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Patel joined Congress in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. He, was then, appointed as the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in Gujarat in 2020. 

However, he accused Congress leadership of sidelining him while making important decisions and eventually quit the party in 2022. On May 19 this year, Patel resigned from the party and stated that Gujarat Congress leaders were least bothered to address real issues of the state but were more focussed on ensuring that the leaders who come from Delhi to Gujarat get "chicken sandwich" on time.

Patel had also alleged that Gujarat Congress leaders tried to disrupt his political effort "sitting in the AC chambers".