Hardik Patel: From Agitation to Political Transition

Hardik Patel was born on July 20, 1993, in Viramgam, Gujarat, India. He hails from a Gujarati Patidar family.

Hardik Patel gained prominence as a leader during the Patidar reservation agitation in 2015. He led the movement demanding reservation for the Patidar community in education and government jobs.

Hardik Patel founded the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), an organization dedicated to advocating for the rights of the Patidar community.

During the Patidar agitation, Hardik Patel faced various legal challenges, including charges of sedition and inciting violence. He was briefly imprisoned.

Hardik Patel initially backed the Indian National Congress (INC) during the 2017 Gujarat legislative assembly election but later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, which raised eyebrows given his past opposition to the party.

Hardik Patel has been embroiled in several controversies throughout his career, including the release of a purported sex tape in 2017 and comments made during political campaigns that were criticized as racist.

In 2020, Hardik Patel was appointed as the Working President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee, the state unit of the INC.

Hardik Patel's tenure with the INC was marked by internal conflicts, leading to his expulsion from the party in 2022 due to anti-party activities.

Despite his past opposition to the BJP, Hardik Patel surprised many by joining the party in 2022. He contested and won the Viramgam Assembly constituency in the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election as a BJP candidate.

As a legislator, Hardik Patel has advocated for various public issues, such as the restoration of Munsar Lake in Gujarat's Viramgam constituency and the appointment of a team from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for its maintenance.