We will avoid the politics of ‘opposing'

INTERVIEW: Hardik Patel working president, Gujarat Congress

- NANDINI OZA

EVER SINCE he launched the agitation in 2015, demanding quota for Patidars, Hardik Patel has been in the limelight for his fiery speeches and the sedition charges levelled against him. He openly supported the Congress in the 2017 Gujarat assembly polls and joined the party in 2019. Now, Patel, 26, has been appointed working president of the Gujarat Congress. Apparently, this was done to clip the wings of president Amit Chavda, who is considered ineffective, and also to infuse new blood into the party. Patel’s elevation also aims to balance caste equations. While Chavda is an OBC leader, opposition leader Paresh Dhanani is a Leuva Patel and Hardik is a Kadva Patel.

In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Patel talks about his challenges and plans:

Q/ Were you expecting to be appointed as state working president?

A/ It happened suddenly so I was a bit worried, too. It is necessary to shoulder this responsibility as, perhaps for the first time in its history, the party has given this [role] to a 26-year-old.

For me, it is not happiness. It is a responsibility. I will surely succeed. But, for this, I will have to start work from now. My target is to have 50 strong youth in each of the 16,000 villages of Gujarat. They should fight for the party, die for the party. They will be used in the 2022 assembly elections.