Patidar leader Hardik Patel likely to join Congress on March 12: Report

Patidar community leader Hardik Patel will reportedly join the Congress party ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha election. Top sources in the Congress have told news agency Press Trust of India that Hardik Patel will likely join the party on March 12.

"He is likely to contest the election from Jamnagar constituency," they said.

Speaking to news agency PTI, the top Congress sources said: "Hardik Patel, who led the agitation demanding reservation for the Patidar community in Gujarat is likely to join the Congress on March 12 in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi."

The Jamnagar Lok Sabha seat is currently represented by Poonamben Maadam of the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP.

Hardik Patel's joining will coincide with the Congress Working Committee or CWC meeting in Ahmedabad, following which top party leaders will address a public rally in the city.

The Congress is focusing on Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It had given a tough fight to the ruling BJP in the last assembly elections in the state.

-PTI