Patidar leader Hardik Patel joined the Congress party in the presence of its president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, NDTV reported.

The party held a meeting of its Working Committee in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad on Tuesday, where Congress leaders discussed the campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The meeting will be followed by a mega rally at Adalaj town, where Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will address her first public rally after entering politics.

Though he has reportedly expressed the desire to contest the Lok Sabha elections from the Jamnagar seat, it is not yet clear if he will contest it. The Lok Sabha elections for 2019 will be held from April 11 to May 19, and the results will be announced on May 23. Gujarat will vote on April 23.

Advertisement

Patel had said on Sunday that he will join the Congress to “give shape to my intentions to serve society and country”. He had added that he will be abide by the party’s decision on fielding him from a constituency.

The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, which is headed by Patel, had supported the Congress in the 2015 local body polls and the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections. Patel was the face of a movement in 2015 to demand reservations for his community in government jobs and educational institutions.

In February, Patel announced that he will “definitely” contest the General Elections, but did not mention if he would join a political party or contest as an independent candidate. He turned 25 last year, making him eligible to stand for the Lok Sabha polls.

The Congress had then welcomed Patel’s decision to contest the election, saying he would make a good candidate against the Narendra Modi government. The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, said his candidacy will only benefit their party. “This announcement is a gimmick, which won’t work when the Gujarat voter has made up its mind to make Modi the PM again,” BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya had said.