The Congress has invited Patel quota agitation leader Hardik Patel and Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani to meet party vice-president Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Ahmedabad on Monday.
Gandhi will take part in ‘Navsarjan Gujarat Janadesh’ rally organised by his party in Gandhinagar, where OBC leader Alpesh Thakor will join the Congress.
Congress’s invite to Hardik Patel and Mevani came against the backdrop of its state unit president Bharatsinh Solanki extended open invitation to Patel, Mevani and Thakor to join the party to ensure the ruling BJP’s defeat.
“Rahul Gandhi will be coming to Ahmedabad tomorrow (Monday). We have invited Hardik Patel and other leaders of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti. They had given a memorandum to us and we are positive about their demands,” Solanki said on Sunday.
“Rahul-ji will hold a meeting with them before the rally and discuss all the issues and will invite them to support the Congress,” Solanki said.
“We have separately invited Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani and others after the rally; Rahul-ji will meet them and discuss their issues,” Solanki said.
The Congress, which is out of power in Gujarat for 22 years, is wooing leaders such as Hardik Patel, Mevani and Thakor who have significant support base in their respective communities.
{{/usCountry}}The Congress, which is out of power in Gujarat for 22 years, is wooing leaders such as Hardik Patel, Mevani and Thakor who have significant support base in their respective communities.
{{/usCountry}}Thakor, the leader of OBC Ekta Manch, will join the Congress with his associates at the rally, Solanki said.
Thakor had met Gandhi in Delhi recently and later announced that he would soon join the party.
Gandhi is also likely to meet Chotu Vasava, the leader of Janata Dal (U) in Gujarat, during his one-day visit.