Hardik Patel

For the Indian cricketer, see Hardik Patel (cricketer).

Hardik Patel
Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office
8 December 2022
Preceded byLakhabhai Bharwad
ConstituencyViramgam
  • Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly
  • Member, Assurance Committee Gujarat Assembly
  • Member, Library Committee Gujarat Assembly
  • Senate Member, Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University
Personal details
Born (1993-07-20) 20 July 1993 (age 31)[1]
Viramgam, Gujarat, India
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (2022–present)
Other political
affiliations		Indian National Congress (2017–2022)
Spouse
Kinjal Patel
​
(m. 2019)​
Alma materSahajanand College
Known forSocial movement for equality in Education and Government Jobs.

Hardik Patel (born 20 July 1993) is an Indian politician and social activist. He rose to prominence in July 2015, where he led the Patidar reservation agitation that sought Other Backward Class (OBC) status for the Patidar caste.

He joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 2020. He served as the Working President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, the state unit of INC in Gujarat. He left the party and eventually joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2022.

Early life

Hardik Patel was born on 20 July 1993[1] in a Gujarati Patidar family to Bharat and Usha Patel. In 2004, his parents moved to Viramgam. Hardik studied from Class VI to Class VIII at Divya Jyot School in Viramgam, before moving to K B Shah Vinay Mandir, where he studied until Class XII. He was a poor student and a cricket enthusiast.[2] After completing Class XII, Hardik started helping his father, Bharat, to run a small business of fixing submersible pumps in underground water wells. Bharat was a Congress worker.[3]

In 2010, Patel joined Sahajanand College in Ahmedabad. He ran for the post of general secretary of the college students' union and was elected unopposed.[4] In 2013, he received Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) degree.[5][6]

Activism

On 31 October 2012, Hardik Patel joined the Sardar Patel Group (SPG), a Patidar youth body, and within less than a month, became president of its Viramgam unit.[3][7] In 2015, Hardik Patel was ousted from his post with the SPG after a conflict with its leader, Lalji Patel.[3]

In July 2015 Patel's sister, Monica, failed to qualify for a state government scholarship. He was upset when Monica's friend qualified for the same scholarship through the Other Backward Class (OBC) quota even though she had scored lower marks.[6] Recognizing that affirmative policies were benefiting other castes but not Patidars, Patel formed the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) which claim itself as an apolitical organization that aims to get Patidars included in the OBC quota.[8][9][10][11]

With support of PAAS, Patel led the Patidar reservation agitation starting July 2015.[10][11] He organized several rallies across Gujarat.[6][11] On 25 August 2015, a large number of Patidars from all over Gujarat gathered at GMDC ground, Ahmedabad for a rally. That evening, he was briefly arrested by Ahmedabad City Police when he went on fast after a rally held earlier in the day had dispersed.[12] Violent protests broke out in response, forcing the Gujarat state government to impose a curfew and call in the Indian Army.[13] He continued to lead the agitation until 2019.[14]

In 2016, Patel's close aides Chirag Patel and Ketan Patel have alleged him of misusing Patidar community's fund for living a "luxurious" life.[15][16][17]

Lawsuits

On 18 October 2015, Patel was booked for insulting the National Flag of India, in a case registered in Rajkot. He was briefly detained for trying to disrupt the one-day international (ODI) cricket match between India and South Africa.[18] On 19 October 2015, Patel was booked in Surat under the charges of sedition over alleged remarks about 'killing cops'. Subsequently, he was imprisoned.[19] On 15 July 2016, Patel was granted bail on the condition that he would stay out of the state for six months and out of Mehsana for nine months. He moved to Udaipur for this period.[20] He was arrested again on 18 January 2020 for failing to appear before a trial court here in a 2015 sedition case, hours after a warrant was issued against him.[14]

On 25 July 2018, Patel was found guilty of rioting, arson, damage to property and unlawful assembly. The three were fined Rs. 50,000 apart from the two-year imprisonment.[21][22] He appealed the order and could not contest in the 2019 Indian general election pending the outcome of the appeal. On 12 April 2022, the Supreme Court stayed the order of his conviction, until his appeal against the conviction was decided. The stay would allow him to contest the election.[23]

On 9 May 2022, the city sessions court allowed withdrawal of rioting charge against him.[24]

Political career

Patel backed the campaign of the Indian National Congress (INC) in the 2017 Gujarat legislative assembly election.[25][26] In November 2017, a sex tape of Patel was released on social media and went viral. Patel said that he was a victim of dirty politics and the video only proved that he is not impotent.[27][28] On 12 March 2019, he joined the INC.[29][30] During campaigning for the 2019 Indian general election, he made comments against people of Nepal which were described as racist while targeting incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[31]

He was appointed the Working President of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, the state unit of INC, on 11 July 2020.[32][33] He accused the leadership of INC and he praised the BJP and was expelled from the party on May 16, 2022 for anti-party activities.[34][35]

After being in strident opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party for years, he eventually joined them on 2 June 2022.[36]

He was fielded as BJP candidate for Viramgam Assembly constituency for 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election on 10 November 2022 and was elected. In 2023, Hardik Patel, BJP MLA, urged Union Minister of Culture, G Kishan Reddy, to restore Munsar Lake in Gujarat's Viramgam and requested the appointment of an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) team for its maintenance.[37]

Personal life

Hardik Patel married his childhood friend Kinjal Parikh on 27 January 2019 in Digsar of Muli taluka, Surendranagar district, Gujarat.[38][39]

References

  1. ^ a b Meghdoot Sharon (24 August 2015). "Meet 22 year-old Hardik Patel, the face of Patel agitation in Gujarat". CNN-IBN. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  2. ^ Gagdekar, Roxy (27 August 2015). "A budding cricketer who changed his line". The Times of India. Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  3. ^ a b c "Well-funded, organized and massive: Who's behind Hardik Patel's war machine?". The Times of India. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  4. ^ Parimal Dabhi (30 August 2015). "Sunday Story: The Angry Young Patel". Indian Express. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  5. ^ "Who is Hardik Patel". The Times of India. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  6. ^ a b c David Barstow and Suhasini Raj (27 August 2015). "Caste Quotas in India Come Under Attack". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  7. ^ Leena Misra, Parimal Dabhi (2 September 2015). "Lalji Patel: 'I let Hardik run social media, he made it seem he was the leader'". Indian Express. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  8. ^ "Patel quota protest: Rally in Madhya Pradesh today, Hardik Patel lays out pan-India agitation plan". Indian Express. 31 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  9. ^ Saubhadra Chatterji & Mallica Joshi (31 August 2015). "Hardik Patel wants his protest to go India-wide". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 30 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  10. ^ a b Mahesh Langa (28 August 2015). "Get rid of quota or make all its slave, says leader of Patel group". The Hindu. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  11. ^ a b c Geeta Pandey (26 August 2015). "Hardik Patel: Face of Gujarat caste protests". BBC. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Patidar rally youth leader Hardik Patel arrested in Ahmedabad". Business Standard. 25 August 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  13. ^ Rishi Iyengar (26 August 2015). "Riots Break Out in India Over a Dominant Caste's Attempt to Gain 'Backward' Status". Time. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  14. ^ a b "Congress leader Hardik Patel arrested for evading sedition case trial". The Financial Express. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Aides turn against Hardik Patel, accuse him of misusing community's money". The Times of India. 23 August 2016.
  16. ^ "Hardik Patel became crorepati within a year of launching Patidar quota stir: Former associates – Firstpost". Firstpost. 23 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Hardik Patel used quota stir to become leader, amass wealth: Ex-aides". Hindustan Times. 23 August 2016.
  18. ^ "'Tricolour in a case' remarks: Hardik Patel booked for sedition". NDTV. 18 October 2015.
  19. ^ "'Kill cops' remarks: Hardik Patel booked for sedition". The Times of India. 19 October 2015.
  20. ^ "Patidar leader Hardik Patel gets conditional bail in rioting case". The Indian Express. 11 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
  21. ^ "In 2015 Gujarat Rioting Case". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
  22. ^ Shifa Naseer (29 March 2019). "Gujarat HC rejects Hardik Patel's plea to stay conviction in Mehsana rioting case, can't contest polls". Indiatoday.in.
  23. ^ "Supreme Court Stays Rioting and Arson Conviction Against Hardik Patel". The Wire. 12 April 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  24. ^ Saeed Khan (9 May 2022). "Ahmedabad court allows govt to withdraw criminal case against Hardik Patel". The Times of India. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  25. ^ "Buzz in Delhi: Hardik and Sena share common goals". National Herald. 23 November 2017.
  26. ^ "Congress promises to bring legislation for Patidar reservation, without altering OBC share of quota". firstpost.com. 4 December 2017.
  27. ^ "Hardik Patel on sex CD: I am yet to marry and I am not impotent". India Today.
  28. ^ "Hardik Patel's Alleged Sex Tape Rocks Patidar Movement in Gujarat". The Quint. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  29. ^ "Patidar Leader Hardik Patel Joins Congress In Presence Of Rahul Gandhi". NDTV. 12 March 2019.
  30. ^ "Hardik Patel joins Congress in Ahmedabad". aninews.in. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  31. ^ Saumya, Trivedi (23 April 2019). "Hardik Patel attacks PM Modi with a racist jibe: 'Will go to Nepal for chowkidars, I want a PM in India'". Times Now. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  32. ^ "Congress appoints Hardik Patel as working president of Gujarat unit". The Indian Express. 12 July 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  33. ^ "Hardik Patel Appointed Working President of Congress's Gujarat Unit with Immediate Effect".
  34. ^ "In Gujarat, Hardik Patel lauds BJP's policies; vouches for Hindutva". www.newindianexpress.com. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  35. ^ "Hardik Patel lauds BJP for strong leadership". The Pioneer. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  36. ^ "Hardik Patel joins BJP after quitting Congress months ahead of Gujarat elections". Hindustan Times. 2 June 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2022.
  37. ^ The Indian Express
  38. ^ "Patidar leader Hardik Patel married to childhood friend Kinjal Parikh". Hindustan Times. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
  39. ^ "Hardik Patel Gets Married to Childhood Friend, Says Wife Will Help in Fight for Patidar Rights". News18. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 4 March 2019.