Former Congress Leader Hardik Patel Likely To Join BJP In Next Few Days

Hardik Patel Joining BJP: Hardik Patel's entry into the saffron party will happen in the presence of Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala.

Patidar leader Hardik Patel

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New Delhi: Former Congress working president and Patidar leader Hardik Patel will be joining BJP either on May 30 or May 31 in Gandhinagar, sources told ABP News. Patel will also lead an Ekta Yatra from Somnath temple to the Statue of Unity after joining BJP.  Hardik Patel's entry into the saffron party will happen in the presence of Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Parshottam Rupala.

In a programme on a TV channel, Hardik Patel also hinted at contesting the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections, IANS reported. He said party would decide from which constituency he would contest the assembly elections from.

Hardik resigned from the Congress as working president as well as primary member of the party on May 18. Since then, Patel has attacked the Congress on various forums, calling the party "anti-Patidar and anti- Gujarat".

READ | 'Congress Doesn't Want To Do Anything Good For Gujarat' — Full Text Of Hardik Patel Resignation Letter

Hardik Patel shot to the limelight in 2015 after he led an agitation seeking reservation for the Patidar community in Gujarat. He was made the Gujarat Congress working president in July 2020.

Earlier this week, Hardik Patel hit out at the Congress leadership for their alleged "hatred towards Hindus and Lord Ram".

In a series of tweets, Hardik Patel said, "I had said earlier also that the Congress party works to hurt the sentiments of the people, it is always trying to damage the faith of Hindu religion.

"I want to ask the Congress and its leaders as in what enmity do you have with Lord Shri Ram? Why hate Hindus so much? After centuries, a temple of Lord Shri Ram is being built in Ayodhya, yet the leaders of Congress keep making statements against Lord Shri Ram."

In his resignation letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Hardik Patel alleged that Congress "only played to the role of a roadblock" over certain key issues in the country and was "merely reduced to opposing everything".

The Patidar leader said that whenever he raised issues of the people of Gujarat, senior Congress leaders were busy checking messages on their mobile phones, and some leaders were "enjoying abroad" when the party and the country needed them.