Once a mass leader, Hardik Patel adopts different strategy for Gujarat civic polls

Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel seems to have adopted a different strategy for the upcoming local body elections. Patel, who was once the face of Patidar agitation and a mass leader, is now attending small gatherings of party workers organised by local leaders.

Ahmedabad: Political activities have picked up in Gujarat following the announcement of election dates for the local self-government bodies. The state is abuzz with fever-pitch political activities in the wake of the forthcoming elections to the local self-government bodies.

The elections are crucial not only for Congress but also for young Patidar leader Hardik Patel who was appointed as the working president of Gujarat Congress in July last year. But Patel's 'mass leader appeal' started shrinking after he lost his 'main cause' of Patidar agitation to BJP and bargained with the Congress for his political career. The Patidar agitation witnessed peaceful rallies initially. But the movement caught the attention of the entire state when a Patidar rally in Mehsana district turned violent, and a mob set a local BJP MLA’s office on fire.

Patel was booked for sedition and other charges in 2015 during the Patidar agitation which pressed for OBC reservation for the community.

He had to face stiff opposition from the people who had extended support to him during the Patidar protest and many videos of people's protest against him went viral. With his crowd-pulling ability is likely to take a hit now, Hardik Patel is now following a different way of mobilising the crowd and has been avoiding mass gatherings.

The 27-year-old has been expressing his views in small gatherings of party workers organised by local leaders. Patel was seen at the farmers’ agitation in Gandhinagar and in smaller protest demonstrations. He has also been visiting villages to mobilise people in support of the farmers’ agitation against the new farm laws. His main thrust is on mobilizing public opinion in favour of the Congress at the grassroots level.

Adopting different strategy

Hardik Patel owes his popularity and rise in the public domain to the Patidar agitation and his affiliation to the Patel caste. The working President is now wooing 'Patels' to vote for the Congress. In January, Hardik held meetings with Congress workers belonging to the Patel caste in different districts of north Gujarat. He made members of the Patel caste take a pledge to vote for the Congress in the local self-government body elections. ETV Bharat has learned that Hardik had demanded more tickets in local body elections for Patel candidates but the party did not pay heed to his demands.

In addition to addressing meetings of Patel caste members, Hardik Patel has also been touring those areas which have traditionally been with the Congress. As part of the mass contact drive of the Congress, he addressed a public meeting in Saijpur ward of Ahmedabad where he expressed solidarity with the people suffering due to price rise during the BJP rule.

Hardik Patel was also seen campaigning in Asarva ward, another Congress strong-hold. He highlighted the use of illicit liquor in the ward due to which women are subjected to domestic violence and abuse. He even held discussions with party workers and supporters in Viratnagar and Nikol and discussed various aspects on how to attack BJP. Thus, Hardik’s new strategy is organising meetings with different wings of the Congress party with a view to activate the grassroots workers.

Separate platform for youth

With an eye on mobilizing the support of youth in his native place Viramgam, Hardik has formed a separate platform for cricket enthusiasts. He has formed Viramgam Cricket Association which organized a T-20 cricket tournament in January and also gave awards to the winning team and best players. The presence of Congress leaders in the event made the objective obvious.

Hardik Patel is also making efforts to strengthen his support-base in his native Viramgam. He addressed election meetings in Sanchana, which falls under the district panchayat in the Viramgam assembly constituency. He spoke about the BJP government’s repressive steps to crush the farmers’ movement.

Attended meeting with Sahu

A meeting of senior leaders was held by party’s election observer Tamradhwaj Sahu and state in-charge Rajiv Satav. Hardik Patel also spoke in the meeting and expressed his resolve to work for the victory of the party in the elections. Thus, Hardik has been following the strategy of less public agitation on the bigger platform in his capacity of party’s acting president. He is trying to engage more with grassroots level workers in smaller functions seeking their support to convey that he stands firmly with the Congress.

Bonhomie with Jidgnesh Mehvani

Hardik Patel and Dalit leader Jignesh Mehvani have again exuded bonhomie and the duo has been organising separate social programmes. In January, Hardik addressed a joint meeting of his supporters and members of Jignesh Mevani’s organization where the former said revolution flows in our blood. Both had held a similar programme in Ahmedabad attended by about 300 social activists. The meeting discussed issues that can rally people against the BJP. Mevani and Hardik had jointly organized a programme on the issue of unemployment in which allegation was levelled that the BJP government was gifting away land to industrialists in the name of Gujarat model of development.

Asked about Patel's 'inactiveness' during Gujarat local body elections, Congress spokesperson Jayrajsinh Parmar told ETV Bharat, "There is nothing like active or inactive. Hardik has been with the party for a long time. Being the acting president of the party, he has many responsibilities. Hardik has been with campaigning for the party during public contact drive at many places. When it comes to the allocation of party tickets, every leader demands tickets for his active workers. However, the party has to consider many factors, local equations and other issues because of which there is no rule that each group should have a definite quota of seats. Therefore, there is no reason for anyone to be angry. The party had paid attention to many suggestions made by Hardik Patel. Hardik Patel is very much active in the party. He is not partisan and is making every effort to ensure that the party’s image does not get damaged."