Hardik Patel joins BJP in election year; says will work as ‘soldier’ under PM

Gandhinagar: Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Thursday joined the BJP in Gujarat, two weeks after quitting the Congress.
The move comes months ahead of the Gujarat Assembly elections, where the BJP seeks to retain power. Polls to the 182-member House are due by the end of this year. 
Speaking to reporters later, Patel, once a vocal critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said he joined the BJP without any expectation of getting a poll ticket and that he would serve as a “common worker” and “soldier” of the party. He also said that he left the Congress as it “does not respect people’s sentiments and distances itself from religious issues concerning crores of Hindus”.
Patel, 28, was welcomed into the party fold by BJP’s Gujarat unit president C R Paatil and former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel. His induction ceremony took place at BJP’s state unit headquarters ‘Kamalam’ here.
 Patel had gained prominence in 2015 after he led the agitation seeking reservation for the Patidar community in the state.