Gujarat Elections: Hardik Patel CD row escalates after alleged BJP link

Gujarat: Hours after an alleged sex CD featuring Patidar leader Hardik Patel surfaced, pictures of Ashwin Sankarsariya, the  who leaked the CD, claiming to expose Hardik were seen with Bharatiya Janta Party leader and Union Minister Mansukh Mandviya. These pictures have ‘strengthened’ Hardik’s claims that the entire matter has been planted by BJP in the wake of forthcoming elections. On the other hand, BJP has refused the charges of having anything to do with Sankarsariya. After releasing the CD, he claimed that he has such videos of many of Patel’s followers. Speaking to media on the same, Sankarsariya said “Not just Hardik, his entire team is such. He should clarify on all the women he has assaulted”. He further claimed that he would expose such CDs in the coming future. Speaking on the controversy, the Patidar leader on Monday attacked BJP for playing "dirty politics" to tarnish his image ahead of Assembly polls in Gujarat. “Dirty politics has started now,” Hardik said in a tweet. "You can defame me but it will make no difference. The women of Gujarat have been insulted," he said. Terming the video as morphed, Hardik said the YouTube has deleted the video after he reported it. "The video was uploaded to YouTube from some other country. This is how BJP works. The party is now interfering in my personal life. There's no player like Amit Shah," he said.