Less than an hour after OBC leader Alpesh Thakore announced that he would join the Congress on Monday, the ruling BJP got a shot in arm with two Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leaders switching to saffron.
Thakore has been advocating stricter prohibition rules, rights of farmers, and raising the issue of unemployment in Gujarat. He will join Congress in the presence of party vice president Rahul Gandhi on Monday.
Varun Patel and Reshma Patel, considered to be the right and left hand of PAAS convener Hardik Patel, joined the BJP in the presence of national president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar. State BJP president Jitu Vaghani welcomed them.
The impact of Varun and Reshma's exit remains to be seen.
Both Varun and Reshma have been very critical of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Patidars, under the umbrella of PAAS, have been demanding reservation under the OBC category. In the past, they have labelled Shah as “General Dyer” as they believed that the Patidar leaders and supporters were attacked after the meeting on August 25, 2015, on Shah's instructions. The violence that ensued had claimed 14 lives.
The ruling BJP had time and again rejected the PAAS demand for reservation, citing Supreme Court guidelines that reservation can not exceed 49 per cent.
Varun alleged that Hardik was a Congress agent and that he did not wish to help the Congress. He also alleged that, till date, the Congress has not made it clear that how would it give reservation to the Patidars.
Reshma said that they joined the BJP after getting a sense that their demands would be met. According to her, demands like a separate commission, and jobs for the kin of those who were killed during the Patidar agitation would be fulfilled.
She even said that the agitation was not that of a particular person, but the entire community.
Hardik Patel took to Twitter and said that a centipede would continue to run despite its “legs” breaking. “I have the backing of the people and till people are with me I will keep running,” he added.
कनखजूराह के पैर टूट जाने के बावजूद भी कनखजुराह दोड़ेगा !! मेरें साथ जनता हैं।जनता का साथ है तब तक लड़ता रहूँगा !!
— Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) October 21, 2017
Manoj Panara, a PAAS leader, said that Varun and Reshma's joining the BJP would not make any difference.
