Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani says his sole aim is to defeat BJP but will not support any political party

New Delhi: Gujarat Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani said on Wednesday that he will not share stage with the Congress or any other party during the upcoming Assembly elections in the state but asserted that his sole aim was to defeat the BJP.

He, however, refused to comment on a formula being evolved by the Congress that seeks to provide reservation to the Patidars in the state, saying constitutional experts and political parties will have to decide on the issue.

“We will not share the stage with any political party, even if it is the Congress,” he told reporters when asked whether he will shake hands with Rahul Gandhi in the upcoming polls.

Mevani said his sole aim is to defeat the BJP.

He said he will hold a big convention in Ahmedabad on 6 December, the death anniversary of Dalit icon BR Ambedkar, in which Dalits, patidars and other leaders will participate.

Asked to comment on the row involving a purported CD involving Hardik Patel, he sought to downplay the issue and blamed the BJP for it.

“The BJP is rattled. If between two adults there is a consensual act. No one has the right to make a CD,” he said, adding that one needs to think about the woman involved too.