Hardik Patel to head Cong’s Gujarat unit
FRESH BLOOD Out of power for three decades in the state and after a wave of defections, party decides on a young face
NEWDELHI: The Congress party has appointed Patidar leader, Hardik Patel, 26, as the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, perhaps the first time the 135-year-old party has appointed a person so young to such a key position.
The move is aimed at injecting some fresh blood into the Gujarat Congress that has been out of power for three decades.
Patel hit the headlines in 2015 when he became the face of upper caste dissatisfaction against the BJP government in the state, seeking reservation in educational institutions and jobs for a once-dominant agrarian community. With no political background, Patel was able to mobilise crowds that challenged then CM Anandiben Patel’s rule. The violence and protests that ensued led to sedition charges against him but also established him as a man whose Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) was an entity that major parties had to reckon with. “30 years we have been in exile (in the state). I want to travel to 12,000 villages in Gujarat to tell people to forget the mistakes that Congress made, to just give us one more chance,” Patel said over phone soon after his appointment.
NEW DELHI: The Congress party has appointed Patidar (or Patel community) leader, Hardik Patel, 26, as the working president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, perhaps the first time the 135-year-old party has appointed a person so young to such a key position.
The move is aimed at injecting some fresh blood into the Gujarat Congress that has been out of power for three decades in the state, and which recently saw a wave of defections.
A commerce graduate, Patel hit the headlines in 2015 when he became the face of upper caste dissatisfaction against the BJP government in the state, seeking reservation in educational institutions and jobs for a oncedominant agrarian community.
With no political background, Patel was able to mobilise crowds that challenged then chief minister Anandiben Patel’s rule. The violence and protests that ensued led to sedition charges against him but also established him as a man whose Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) was an entity that major parties had to reckon with. Ahead of the elections in December 2017, Patel officially campaigned for the Congress party; he joined it ahead of the Lok Sabha polls last year. “30 years we have been in exile (in the state). I want to travel to 12,000 villages in Gujarat to tell people to forget the mistakes that Congress made, to just give us one more chance,” Patel said over phone soon after his appointment.
“We need to reach the people in the state. There are so many issues they have, and we need to highlight how this current government is inefficient,” he added.
A senior Congress leader in Delhi said the appointment was also meant to ensure that Patel wouldn’t walk over to the BJP like Alpesh Thakor, the OBC leader who joined Congress around the same time as Patel; he switched over to the BJP last year. Ahead of the Rajya Sabha polls last month, three legislators quit while five did so in March.
“Hardik isn’t just popular in Gujarat but has nationwide appeal among the young. His priorities are jobs and youth issues and these are in perfect unison with the Congress party’s . This (his appointment) part of the new plans we have for the party,’’ said Rajya Sabha MP, Rajeev Satav who was part of the team that worked on the Gujarat polls.
The BJP was dismissive about the impact of Patel’s appointment. “He has never been a factor in the state,’’ said BJP’S Mukesh Dixit. “The Congress has a paucity of leaders in the state and that’s why they had to go with him. The Patel community is just 16% in the state so how can he make that much of a difference?’’
Thakor was much more muted in his response to his peer’s promotion in his former party. “I can only wish Hardik Patel luck in this new assignment.”