Patidar quota stir leader Hardik Patel will be Shiv Sena’s face in Gujarat if the party contests the upcoming Assembly elections at the end of this year, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said today.
“Shiv Sena has begun contesting elections outside Maharashtra. If the party contests in Gujarat on people’s demand, Hardik Patel will be a big face of it,” Uddhav said, after a meeting with 23-year old Patel leader at ‘Matoshri’, Sena chief’s residence in Mumbai.
Gujarat’s 182 Assembly constituencies will go to polls later this year.
Welcoming Hardik at ‘Matoshri’ where he had come to pay tributes to Bal Thackeray, Uddhav said the young leader is fighting for rights and justice and Shiv Sena will assist him wherever needed.
Hardik, sitting beside Uddhav and Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray, said Shiv Sena already helps people and does not need his help.
“I am just 23 years old and still learning. I have come here to seek elders’ blessings,” Hardik said.
He showed his reverence for Shiv Sena founder Bala Saheb Thackeray with a tweet, referring to him as a “lion.”
“It is great to meet and talk with good people and take that message to people. I bow to the real “Ek Tha Tiger” Bala Saheb,” he tweeted.
In another tweet, he said, “A great meeting with Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray and Aditya Thackeray. Lion’s roar is still heard in Matoshri.”
Aaditya Thackeray also tweeted about the meeting and said, “Uddhav ji and I welcome @HardikPatel_ at Matoshri, he came to pay his tribute to @ShivSena Pramukh Shri Balasaheb Thackeray.”
“Hardikbhai and Uddhav ji discussed their respective views on fight against social injustice and the way forward,” he said in another tweet.
The face of the Patidar quota stir of 2015-16, Hardik Patel spent a few months in jail before being exiled out of Guajarat. He has shown his dislike for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP while showing support for Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
