Caravan News
NEW DELHI — Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who had joined the Congress two weeks ago, will not be able to contest general elections as Gujarat court on Friday rejected his plea to put a stay on his conviction in a 2015 rioting case.
While the news is a great setback for the Congress party, Patel may now approach the Supreme Court.
In July 2018, a court in Mehsana district had sentenced Patel and two of his aides to two years in jail for rioting and arson in Visnagar town in 2015 during a protest led by him to demand Other Backward Class status and 27% reservation in government jobs and education for the Patel community. The High Court later granted Patel bail and suspended his jail sentence, but his conviction remained valid.
The 25-year-old Hardik Patel had moved the High Court on March 8 to seek a stay on his conviction on the grounds that he wanted to contest the elections.
His plea, however, was opposed on Thursday by the BJP-led Gujarat government producing photographic evidence and documents to show that Patel was present at the time of the incident.
The Patidar leader had joined Congress on March 12 in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi.
He had also reportedly made his intention public to contest Lok Sabha elections from Gujarat’s Jamnagar constituency earlier this month. The constituency is currently represented by Poonamben Maadam of the BJP.
During Gujarat Assembly election in 2017, Hardik Patel had backed the Congress and the party gave a stiff competition to the BJP, winning 81 out of 182 assembly seats
