Hardik Patel holds the lotus, will it benefit BJP or Congress?
India
bbc-BBC Hindi
ANI
Hardik Patel
On June 2, 2022, when Hardik Patel formally joined the BJP, an unknown youth tried to throw ink at him.
Earlier, after joining the Congress on 19 April 2019, when Hardik Patel was addressing a public meeting in Surendranagar, a youth belonging to the Patel community slapped him on the stage. On 8 April 2018, black ink was thrown at him in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
In 2015, Hardik Patel emerged as a youth leader from the agitation demanding reservation for the politically and socially backward Patidar community. Since that time, he has been facing the anger of the youth.
Hardik Patel, who opposed the BJP government in the state and the Center since 2001 (when Modi was elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat), joined the BJP on Thursday in the presence of Gujarat BJP President CR Patil, former Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and other leaders. joined.
https://twitter.com/HardikPatel_/status/1532344584839172096
Joining BJP, Hardik Patel said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP leaders JP Nadda, CR Patil and Bhupendra Patel are working hard in the interest of the country. I will work with him just like the squirrel did while building Ram Setu.
But working like a squirrel will not be easy for Hardik Patel. His troubles have started from the very first day of his joining BJP. People are questioning him about the youth killed during the Patidar movement.
During the Patidar movement, Hardik Patel had said that he would never enter politics. But in the 2017 assembly elections, he helped the party without joining the Congress. In the year 2019, when he decided to formally join the Congress, there was resentment towards him in the Patel community. And now that he has joined the BJP, once again the people of the Patidar community are asking him difficult questions.
Lalji Patel of Sardar Patel Group describes Hardik Patel as an opportunistic and selfish leader. They say that Hardik Patel first betrayed Sardar Patel Group and now he is cheating Congress.
“Everyone in the society knows that this person cannot be trusted,” he said.
Varun Patel, who was Hardik Patel’s partner in the Patidar reservation movement, is currently in BJP. On 18 May 2022, in a tweet, he said that BJP workers are calm but not weak.
https://twitter.com/varunpateloffic/status/1526795441769431040
Talking to BBC Gujarati Service BJP spokesperson Yagnesh Dave Said that BJP is a party working in discipline and no party workers are angry with Hardik joining BJP.
He says that Hardik Patel has decided to join the party inspired by BJP ideology, there is no question of anyone’s displeasure in this.
He says, “No one is opposing Hardik joining the party. All BJP workers know that the decisions that are taken in the party are taken keeping in view the interest of the party and the people, hence the resentment. There is no question of that.”
Yagnesh Dave has said that Hardik Patel has been included in the party without any political consultation, our doors are always open for those who want to serve the society.
When Yagnesh was asked from which seat Hardik would be nominated to contest the election, he said that he had no idea about it and that the decision would be taken by the leadership of the party.
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who will be advantage – BJP or Congress?
Not only is the displeasure rising over Hardik Patel joining BJP, as well as such talks are going on within the party that how much loss will Hardik’s departure to the Congress and how much will the BJP benefit from him.
Political analyst Ghanshyam Shah told the BBC that neither Congress will suffer much nor BJP is going to get any special benefit from Hardik joining the BJP.
He says that when Hardik was in Congress, he used to make statements against BJP, his coming to BJP will directly benefit BJP that all this will stop now. Talking about the youth, there is always a kind of anti-incumbency in their thinking. But BJP will directly benefit from Hardik that now he will not speak against BJP.
Ghanshyam Shah says, “Looking at the results of the 2017 assembly elections, the vote share of NOTA is 1.7 percent and after 32 years, it was the time of Congress when it got 77 seats. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP got 26 seats. . If we look at the voting pattern, majority of the votes of NOTA were cast by tribals and Muslims. Due to this later BJP started inducting tribal leaders in the party.
He said, “The bill regarding reservation on economic grounds in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha has been passed. BJP does not want the vote bank of the upper castes to slip from its hands, so Hardik Patel has been included in the BJP. There is no special benefit to the BJP from this.”
Ghanshyam Shah says that the charisma of Hardik Patel which was visible in the year 2015 is now getting blurred.
He says, “Had Hardik’s charisma survived like 2015, he, as working president of Gujarat Congress, would have benefited the party in the recently concluded municipal, district panchayat and taluk panchayat elections, but this did not happen. “
Ghanshyam Shah says, “In the Patidar reservation movement, organizations of the Patel community of Surat took part, but the two powerful organizations of the Patidar community, Khodal Dham and Umiya Dham, did not take any stand in it. Many people who supported Hardik Patel Have moved away from them now. You can say that BJP will also not get much benefit from them.”
ANI
Supporters at a rally of Modi
well-known Election Analyst & Training Research Foundation director Dr MI Khan He also believes that the party will not get much benefit from Hardik Patel joining BJP.
He says, “The vote share of the BJP had increased by 1.15 per cent in the 2017 Gujarat assembly elections, but despite this it lost 16 seats. In comparison, the vote share of the Congress increased by 2.57 per cent and won 77 seats. It gained 16 seats. The Congress was able to restrict the BJP to 99 seats. In the 2012 elections, the vote share of the Congress increased by 0.97 percent and its seats also increased by two seats. Wants to ensure a strong victory in the 2022 elections.”
“Hardik Patel has been brought into the BJP so that the first time voters are not attracted to the Congress at all. Apart from this, there is no other benefit to the BJP from Hardik’s entry in the party.”
Dr. Khan says, “While in Congress, Hardik Patel managed to create such an image that he is a national leader. Even after meeting leaders of different states who came into politics from the Patidar reservation movement, he spoke about his importance. gave indications. The result was that he was made the President of Gujarat Pradesh Congress. At a very young age, he reached an important place in politics. I think now he needs to become a mature leader.”
According to him, “The situation has changed a lot from 2015 to 2022. Congress fielded Hardik Patel for campaigning in the election campaign but he could not win a single seat for the party in the election. This shows that his popularity. The graph is going down now.”
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Hardik Patel, fast in Ahmedabad, Patidar agitation
Senior Journalist Padmakant Trivedi They are also of the same opinion that BJP will not get much benefit from Hardik’s arrival.
He says, “But the BJP workers at the grassroots level, this will make them angry with the BJP after Hardik’s arrival. It will be difficult for them to sit on a platform with the person they have been fighting for in the past years. It is possible that Hardik will benefit more from BJP and not BJP than Hardik.”
“After not being successful as the leader of Congress, Hardik was finding it difficult to survive in the party anyway. In such a situation, he grabbed the hand of BJP as an alternative.”
talking to bbc Senior state Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia Said, “Hardik’s leaving Congress will not harm the party. Congress had given a big responsibility to Hardik Patel in a hurry. Hardik has taken many such steps which have harmed the party, but still the party forgives him. I have come.”
“He has not been able to show his charisma in the first Lok Sabha elections and then in the subsequent municipal elections, district panchayat elections and taluka panchayat elections. His departure will not cause any major setback to the Congress.”
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