Former Gujarat Congress unit working president Hardik Patel continues to be coy about his political ambitions after leaving the grand old party.
In an interview to The Indian Express, published on Wednesday, Hardik Patel conceded the coming Gujarat assembly elections would be “one-sided”, indicating an easy victory for the BJP.
Explaining his line of thought, Hardik argued people in Gujarat “see the BJP as bringing development, peace and security. The people of Gujarat have understood that there is peace and security in the BJP regime because before that they saw riots. They have seen that in the last 20-22 years, nothing has happened”.
He argued “Third, there is no corruption in this government... agreed, you have to stand in a queue and pay a bribe to get a copy of the land title, but there has been no major instance (of corruption) involving any department in Gandhinagar in the last 30 years.” Hardik Patel blamed the Congress for not uncovering and protesting against possible corruption in the BJP.
Hardik felt the AAP was not a challenger in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election, but would be one in the next polls.
He attributed this to the fact that AAP's “national leaders are constantly travelling, and they are more in the media limelight even for the smallest things”. Hardik felt the AAP's strategy “is definitely better than the Congress’s”.
Complaints against Congress
Hardik alleged the Congress talked sweetly with him before he joined, but then saw him as a competitor. “I organised all the meetings myself, but did you see even a picture of the working president in any of the party posters? Was the working president just a lollipop? You didn’t even call me to important meetings, did not consult…” he claimed. Hardik alleged no Congress leader came to see him when his father died last year.
Hardik claimed the Congress did not want Patidar leaders. “Even the Gandhi family… because of whatever happened with Sardar (Patel) saheb, wants to keep Gujarat’s Patels at arm’s length… Vitthal Radadiya, why was he not made a Union minister? Because he was a strong Patidar. Dinsha Patel was never made a cabinet minister, only minister of state, he had a big role in keeping the identity of Sardar Patel alive,” Hardik told The Indian Express.
Hardik said the perception he was close to Rahul Gandhi was false, adding “He has not given me time more than twice.” Hardik also said he was upset with Rahul Gandhi for giving more time to independent MLA Jignesh Mevani after he had been arrested.
Hardik indicated he was not averse to joining either BJP or AAP, but declared he would not hanker after a post. “Offers and bargains are for weak people. Strong people create a space for themselves,” he told The Indian Express.
