Patel agitation leader Hardik Patel should behave like Shiv Sena icon Bal Thackeray if he really considers the latter to be his role model, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray said on Saturday.

"I will be happy if anyone moves ahead by taking 'prerna' (inspiration) and 'sphoorti' (enthusiasm) from Bal Thackeray. If Hardik considers Balasaheb as his role model, then he should behave like his role model," Uddhav said at a meeting here.

Hardik, who is spearheading a stir in Gujarat seeking reservation for the Patel community, had reportedly said that the late Bal Thackeray was his role model even as he had also hailed MNS chief Raj Thackeray.