BJP workers will not accept Hardik Patel, says Gujarat Patidar leaders

With Hardik Patel leaving the Congress, Gujarat Patidar leaders said on Wednesday that BJP workers will not accept him.

Leaders of the Patidar Andolan who have joined the BJP are opposed to Hardik Patel joining the party.

Hardik Patel on Wednesday resigned from the Congress party, accusing its “top leadership” of hating Gujarat and Gujaratis and lacking any seriousness.

"Whenever I met with the senior leadership, I always felt that leaders were not really interested in hearing about problems concerning the people of Gujarat but were more engrossed on what messages they had received on their mobile and other such trivial things," Patel wrote in his resignation letter.

READ | Why did Hardik Patel quit Congress and what will be his next move?

Varun Patel, a BJP leader and former convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), told India Today: "BJP workers have struggled so much against Hardik Patel. It was not just a fight between two political parties. It was very much a personal matter. We were subjected to personal attacks. Therefore, ground workers of the BJP will not like Hardik Patel's joining the BJP."

Varun Patel added, "The Congress party received no benefit even after Hardik Patel joined it. They [Congress] did not win any elections or form a government. As a result, Hardik Patel's decision to join the BJP will be futile. In the end, it is up to the BJP's top leaders to decide whether he should join or not, but BJP workers will not accept Hardik Patel."

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