Ahead of any state elections, it is common for political leaders to switch sides. And Gujarat, which is going to the polls later this year, is no different on this count.
Gujarat Congress working president Hardik Patel, the face of the reservation movement of 2016-17 who joined the grand old party in 2019, is the latest in the state to fuel talks of a political somersault after he dropped the party’s name from his Twitter bio on Monday.
The phrase ‘Working President of the Gujarat Congress’ is now missing from Hardik Patel’s Twitter bio, which reads: “Proud Indian Patriot. Social and Political Activist. Committed to a better India.”
Recently, Patel had changed his WhatsApp profile picture from the Congress tricolour scarf to one with a saffron scarf. He even deleted Cogress from his WhatsApp bio. The move had sparked speculation over his possible political switch.
Even during the recent Yuva Swabhiman Sammelan at Tapi, where Youth Congress national President B.V. Srinivas was present, Patel was seen wearing a non-Congress plain white scarf.
Asked about the change in WhatsApp profile picture, Hardik had said that everyone changes their DPs every five days, and he also did the same.
On the other hand, Patel has also criticised national Congress leaders on various platforms of late.
Last Tuesday, he had tweeted: “I am in Congress currently. I hope the central leaders find a way so that I continue to remain in the Congress. There are others who want Hardik to leave the Congress. They want to break my morale.”
In a few interviews recently, Hardik had blamed national Congress leaders by saying that he is not getting due respect as Gujarat Congress President, as no one consults him nor gives him any major responsibility.
He recently said in an interview that he considers himself as a ‘Hinduvadi’ and ‘Rambhakt’.
