Gujarat Patidar quota agitation leader meets Shiv Sena chief in Mumbai

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today put up a joint show with Patidar quota agitation leader Hardik Patel in Mumbai.

“Why can’t he (Patel) be Shiv Sena’s face for the polls? But nothing has been decided or discussed yet. This was just our first meeting and everything cannot be discussed in one meeting,” Uddhav said in reference to general election of Gujarat assembly likely to take place in December this year. Hardik who is understood to have secret commitment with Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Admi Party however denied he would campaign for the Shiv Sena but added he would support Shiv Sena whenever required.

Hardik and Uddhav had an hour-long talk at Uddhav’s residence.

“Hardikbhai and Uddhav ji discussed their respective views on fight against social injustice and the way forward,” tweeted Aaditya Thackeray, son of Uddhav who heads the Shiv Sena’s youth wing.

Stock prices of whoever seeming to pose even slightest challenge to ruling BJP in Narendra Modi’s home-state Gujarat is always high before every election season in media, political circles and entire anti-saffron eco-system, desperately waiting for last many years for someone to cause significant damage to BJP in its strong-bastion Gujarat. Hardik whose target is to “finish BJP in Gujarat” as per his latest interview to English tabloid has in the recent past met Congress leaders from Gujarat on the sideline of wedding function, Congress chief minister of Uttarakhand Harish Rawat and JDU leader and Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar openly. Hardik however met PAAS leaders secretly. Out of total 182, there are 40 assembly seats that may have impact of Patidar voters. Hardik’s influence is more on rural youth Patidar voters. Urban Patidars(even small urban centers) and rural Patidars who are not young continue to vote for BJP(observation based on panchayat polls when Patidar agitation was on peak). BJP in Gujarat has comfortably sailed through much-hyped Patidar threats in year 2007(led by Gordhan Zadafia, Bavku Udhad and others) and 2012(led by Keshubhai and Gordhan Zadafia) polls with only some damage.