Patidar leader Hardik Patel had closely worked with the Congress during the assembly elections in Gujarat last year. (File) Patidar leader Hardik Patel had closely worked with the Congress during the assembly elections in Gujarat last year. (File)

Patidar leader Hardik Patel on Friday said he did not consider Congress president Rahul Gandhi as his leader and looked forward to the entry of the latter’s sister Priyanka Gandhi into active politics.

“I like Rahul Gandhi at a personal level but I do not consider him as a leader because he is not my leader,” Patel said during an interactive session in Mumbai. He added that Rahul’s sister Priyanka should join active politics.

Patel, who heads the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), had closely worked with the Congress during the assembly elections in Gujarat last year. The leader claimed that had the Congress supported his movement with “full capacity”, the BJP’s tally in the polls would have been 60 sears and not 99. The Congress had won 77 seats in the 182-member assembly.

“But it gives me great pleasure to see the full strength of the Congress representatives in the Gujarat Assembly. Now, they (Congress MLAs) are raising the voice of the people of Gujarat confidently,” Patel said.

The Patidar leader also said he would not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, despite attaining the eligibility age of 25 years. “I am not going to contest the Lok Sabha election next year against (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi. In fact, I have decided not to contest the election next year, despite the fact that I would be eligible to take a plunge into the electoral battlefield,” said Patel, who could not contest the Gujarat polls due to age limitation.

“I will be able to contest elections and no one can stop me from doing so. However, I think it is more important to feel the pulse of the people, whom I would represent in the Assembly or Parliament. First, I want to understand everything and most importantly, what the public wants and deserves,” he said.

On Thursday, the Patidar spearhead said social media can be used in Maharashtra to defeat the incumbent BJP state government in next year’s assembly elections. “If someone can become the chief minister in Gujarat using social media, then the government can be toppled in Maharashtra using social media,” Patel had said during an interactive session with social media activists of the Mumbai Congress.

(With PTI inputs)

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