Will work as a small soldier under PM Modi leadership: Hardik Patel's tweet confirms BJP entry

Hardik Patel, a former Congress politician, will be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday, only days after leaving the Grand Old Party. On Thursday morning, the Patidar leader conducted a 'pooja' at his Ahmedabad house before formally joining the party.

Patidar leader Hardik Patel ultimately departed the Congress on May 18 after months of back and forth over infighting in the Gujarat branch, inflicting yet another blow on the party only months before the state assembly elections.

Hardik Patel on Thursday confirmed in a tweet that he is joining the Saffron party and said, “With the feelings of national interest, state interest, public interest and social interest, I am going to start a new chapter from today. I will work as a small soldier in the noble work of service to the nation under the leadership of the successful Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Bhai Modi."

The Patidar activist, who joined the Congress shortly before the Lok Sabha election in 2019, has been openly articulating his dissatisfaction with the party and its high brass about being sidelined ahead of the polls.

Hardik Patel, the poster child and face of the 2015 Patidar quota protest, was originally viewed as one of the major faces to oppose the BJP in its strongest bastion, Gujarat, with the agitation being one of the most difficult challenges the Saffron party faced in the state.

Patel's admission to the BJP is considered as a critical milestone in the party's efforts to win Patidars ahead of the 2022 state election. The BJP's efforts to court the Patidar community began in September 2021, when it quickly dismissed the then-CM, Vijay Rupani, and his entire Cabinet in order to install Bhupendra Patel.