After ushering in a brand new leadership in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is preparing to spring another major surprise on its rivals.
After ushering in a brand new leadership in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress is preparing to spring another major surprise on its rivals.
According to highly-placed sources, the party plans to bring Hardik Patel, the Patidar leader from Gujarat, to campaign against the BJP in Uttar Pradesh.
Hardik Patel, who has built up a good following in his Patidar community (Kurmi) in Gujarat and is currently facing externment from his state, is expected to arrive in Uttar Pradesh in October and will start touring the Kurmi-dominated Assembly segments.
Hardik Patel’s presence in the UP elections is expected to dilute the impact of Apna Dal leader and union minister Anupriya Patel who is being propped up by the BJP as its Kurmi face. “We plan to get Hardik Patel to campaign in about 32 Assembly seats that have a sizeable Kurmi population. Political strategist Prashant Kishor has approved of the idea and his team members will soon be meeting the Patidar leader in Udaipur to finalise the details of the UP campaign,” said a senior Congress leader.
Congress leaders feel that Hardik’s campaign in UP will not only help in making a dent in the BJP’s OBC vote-bank, but will also expose the Modi government.
The BJP is eyeing Kurmi votes through Ms Anupriya Patel while the Samajwadi Party will be using Mr Beni Prasad Varma to get Kurmi votes. But Hardik Patel’s campaign will have an adverse impact on both the parties,” said the party leader.
Hardik has already announced that he will ensure that the Congress wins the Gujarat Assembly elections next year and since he is sympathetic to the Congress, getting him to UP should not be much of a problem.
