Gujarat: Mevani slams former friend Hardik Patel for ‘ungraceful’ exit from Congress

Independent MLA from Gujarat Jignesh Mevani has attacked Hardik Patel – his former friend – for ‘ungraceful’ exit from the Congress party.

Patel in his one-page resignation letter which he published on Twitter on May 18, had criticised Congress for ignoring Gujarat and Gujaratis.

“Whenever our country faced challenges and when the Congress needed leadership, Congress leaders were enjoying abroad,” Patel had alleged in his resignation letter.

The Patidar leader stepped up attacks on Congress after leaving the party.

Talking to media, Patel on Friday referred to Alpesh Thakor and Aasha Patel. Once considered a Prominent OBC leader, Aplesh left Congress in 2019 and joined BJP.

Interestingly, he lost the by-elections for the Radhanpur seat same year which he had won in 2017.

Mevani who was invited in the recently held Chintan Shivir said, “You can have differences with the party. But it is inappropriate (for Patel) to say that the Congress is anti-Gujarat or anti-India...The affection that you seem to have developed towards the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) shows that you have somewhere compromised on the ideological front”.

The Vadgam MLA Jignesh Mevani, who has been supporting the Congress, is expected to officially join the grand old party before the 2022 Gujarat assembly elections.

Saying that Congress gave all the support to Hardik Patel, and appointed him the working president for Gujarat, Mevani added, “Patel was also the star campaigner for Congress in many states where the Congress recently fought elections. His exit should have been a graceful one, which it was not”.

It is worth recalling here that Congress in 2017 – just before the 2017 elections – had woven an alliance with Mevani, Patel and OBC leader Alpesh Thakor to take on the BJP. However, the alliance failed to defeat the BJP.

It is widely believed that Hardik Patel will be joining BJP ahead of Gujarat elections, scheduled towards the end of this year.