Voices of dissent as Hardik set to join BJP tomorrow

Less than a fortnight after his acrimonious exit from Congress, Gujarat’s Patidar quota warrior Hardik Patel will formally join BJP on Thursday, a party spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday.
Although the move was a foregone conclusion, confirmation was met with skepticism from within BJP, especially from its loyal Patidar base. Old videos have surfaced in which he stated that he will never “surrender” to BJP and let the “sacrifice” of 14 Patidars killed in police firing during the agitation to go in vain.
A senior BJP functionary said: “We do not have any objection to Congress leaders joining BJP, but Hardik Patel has damaged our party. From ground-level workers to top leaders, the majority do not want him to be in BJP.”
The agitation cost former CM Anandiben Patel her post and the houses and offices of a number of senior BJP members were targeted during the stir. The vandalism was attributed to Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which Patel headed.
After bursting on to the political scene in 2015 with the quota stir, Patel joined Congress in 2019 and was made state unit working president in 2020. After weeks of bitterness, he finally resigned from Congress by writing a strongly worded letter to party president Sonia Gandhi.