What next for Hardik Patel, the angry young man miffed with Congress over chicken sandwiches and vacations?

The signs were there for all to see. After all the sulking and slamming, Hardik Patel has resigned from Congress.

In a scathing resignation letter, the high-profile Patidar leader has hit out at the top leadership accusing them of being “distracted on their mobile phones”. He even went after the party’s state leadership saying that they were more focused on “chicken sandwiches” – it’s got Twitter tripping.

In the letter to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, the 28-year-old accused the party of “working against the interest of the country and society”, hating Gujarat and Gujaratis, and “lacking any seriousness”. He even took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, who brought him into the party, criticising the senior leadership for “vacationing abroad”.

“Today, with courage, I am submitting my resignation from the post and primary membership of Congress party. I am hopeful that my decision will be welcomed by each friend and the people of Gujarat. I believe this step of mine will help in working in a positive manner for Gujarat in future,” he wrote in a letter published on Twitter.

आज मैं हिम्मत करके कांग्रेस पार्टी के पद और पार्टी की प्राथमिक सदस्यता से इस्तीफा देता हूँ। मुझे विश्वास है कि मेरे इस निर्णय का स्वागत मेरा हर साथी और गुजरात की जनता करेगी। मैं मानता हूं कि मेरे इस कदम के बाद मैं भविष्य में गुजरात के लिए सच में सकारात्मक रूप से कार्य कर पाऊँगा। pic.twitter.com/MG32gjrMiY

— Hardik Patel (@HardikPatel_) May 18, 2022

Patel’s exit comes after the grand old party’s much-hyped brainstorming session in Udaipur for the revival of the Congress. The timing could not be worst. The big blow for the party comes as Gujarat is slated to go to the polls in Decemeber.

Why is Patel miffed with the party? And what next for him? We take a look.

The rise of Hardik Patel Patel hit headlines after the 2015 Patidar reservation stir in Gujarat. The powerful community makes up 15 per cent of the state population and wanted to be included in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category.

The firebrand leader organised more than 100 rallies during the agitation and was at loggerheads with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

After shunning politics, in 2019, he joined the Congress before the general elections. The party thought this would help it gain the important Patidar vote. However, Patel’s popularity took a hit after taking the political plunge. The Patidar community did not support Congress in the 2019 election or local body polls.

He was appointed as the working president of the Gujarat Congress in July 2020. But young politician was not happy with the function of the state unit.

The many complaints against the Congress

For the past year, Patel has been complaining that the leaders in Gujarat have been sidelining him. The Patidar leader claimed that even after spending three years in the party, the state leadership did not consult him while taking key decisions. In March, the Gujarat unit of the party had a major overhaul, appointing 75 general secretaries and 25 vice-presidents but Patel was not involved, reports The Indian Express.

Recently, the disgruntled Patel said in an interview with the newspaper, “My position in the party is that of a new groom who has been made to undergo nasbandi (vasectomy).”

Patel also complained that the party high command dragged its feet on taking important decisions like the appointment of Naresh Patel, another prominent Patidar leader who is being wooed by all sides in a crucial election year. The two leaders met on Saturday and Naresh told reporters that Hardik had spoken to him about issues in the Congress.

Patel’s constant grouse has been that he has not received backing from the senior leadership. In February, he had warned of an agitation from 23 March if cases against the Patidar community filed during the 2015 protests were not withdrawn. The Gujarat government announced that it would withdraw 10 cases other than the ones under the sedition law against Patel. He faces 28 cases including two under the sedition law, reports The Indian Express.

Earlier this month, the Supreme Court stayed the conviction in a rioting and arson case registered in 2015 against Patel in connection to the Patidar demonstrations. It paved the way for him to contest the upcoming polls, but the Congress remained mum on his ambition, which furthered his belief that he was being sidelined by the party.

The speculation that Patel would quit the Congress furthered after he reached a day later for the Chintan Shivir .

Now in a huff, he was resigned.

What next for Hardik Patel?

With the elections coming, Patel is not short of options. The Aam Aadmi Party, which is trying to get a foothold in Gujarat, had said it would welcome the Patidar leader with open arms.

Now rumours are rife that the youth leader will join the BJP. Last month, Patel said that he was “proud to be a Hindu” and praised the ruling party for its “decision-making capacity”.

“We will have to acknowledge that the recent political decisions taken by the BJP show that it has a better political decision-making capacity. I believe that without praising it, we can at least acknowledge the truth,” Patel had said.

In his letter today, Patel praised several decisions taken by the Narendra Modi government such as the abrogation of Article 370, implementation of GST and construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya. “India wanted solutions for these subjects for a long time,” he said.

“When it came to issues related to India, Gujarat and my Patidar community, Congress’s only stand was to oppose whatever Govt of India led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji did!” the letter read.

A Gujarat BJP leader confirmed that he is in talks with the party and is likely to make the switch, according to a report in The Hindustan Times.

However, Patel has been maintained that joining the BJP “was out of the question”.

With inputs from agencies

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