Hardik Patel says he is undecided between the BJP and AAP

Patidar leader Hardik Patel said on Thursday that he has not yet decided whether or not to join any other party, including Gujarat’s ruling Bhartiya Janata Party or the newly formed Aam Aadmi Party, after resigning from the Congress the previous day.

When speaking at a press conference in Ahmedabad, Patel (28 years old) claimed that the Congress lacked vision and that party leaders were biassed against Gujaratis.

On Wednesday, Patel resigned from the Congress, claiming that top party leaders were distracted by their mobile phones and that Gujarat Congress leaders were more interested in arranging chicken sandwiches for them than in advancing the party’s agenda.

Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party was the subject of an interview with Patel on Thursday. When asked whether he planned to join either party, Patel replied, “I haven’t decided as of now whether I’m going to join the BJP or AAP.”

“The Congress never speaks anything about Hindu issues like the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) or on the issue of a Shivling,” he said, accusing them of being silent on the matter.

Additionally, the Gujarat Congress is overly casteist in its approach to politics. The three years I spent in this party were a complete waste of time, Patel said.

“Adani and Ambani” were two of his favourite insults to use against the Congress and its leaders, he said.

After accusing the Congress leadership of acting as if they despise Gujarat and Gujaratis in a resignation letter to party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday, he announced his resignation as the state Congress working president and as a primary party member.