A three-day yatra from Viramgam in Ahmedabad district to Somnath in Saurashtra region by 24-year-old Hardik Patel, who is spearheading quota agitation in Gujarat, received massive public support on Saturday.
Hardik minced no words when he asked people to vote out the BJP in the coming Assembly polls, as the yatra passed through the Patidar belt, a BJP bastion, in the Saurashtra region.
Held under the banner of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which is leading the quota agitation, the yatra passed through Patidar-dominated towns like Halwad, Morbi, Tankara, Rajkot, Gondal, Jetpur, Vanthali, Keshod and Somnath.
“Time has come for us to take a decision to throw out this party (BJP) that has enslaved us for 25 years. We have to liberate our community from the evil clutches of the BJP,” Hardik told a crowd of more than 10,000 in Morbi, a hub of ceramic tile-manufacturing units.
In most places, the crowd mostly consisted of youngsters roaring and screaming “Hardik! Hardik!” as he waved to them standing atop his SUV, followed by hundreds of other cars.
Even in small villages with a population of 2,000-3,000, hundreds of people came to listen to him.
“Don’t fall for the lollipops the BJP may offer to you. The party has given us nothing except lollipops in return for our votes. When we demanded quota, they killed 14 of our brothers. This is the character of BJP,” he said amidst thunderous applause from the crowd in Keshod town.In another village, he asks the people not to vote for the BJP even if the party fielded his father Bharat Patel as a candidate.