Scuffle Breaks Out During Hardik Patel's Election Rally in Ahmedabad, Patidar Leader Blames BJP

Ahmedabad, April 20: A scuffle broke out during an election rally of Congress leader Hardik Patel in Nikol area of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad. The area is part of Ahmedabad East Lok Sabha constituency. Patel was canvassing for Congress candidate Geeta Patel when the incident took place. Supporters of the Patidar leader alleged that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers initiated the brawl to create ruckus in the rally. Meanwhile, the police took control of the situation. The entire incident was caught on camera.

Video of the incident: 

The incident took place a day after Patel was slapped by an unidentified man during the Jan Akrosh Rally in the state. According to reports, the man, from the crowd, came up to the stage and slapped the Congress leader while he was addressing a rally in Gujarat's Surendra Nagar.

Meanwhile, the Patidar leader after the attack on him during the rally had said that the BJP is trying to harm him. The man who slapped Patel was identified as Tarun Gajjar. He said that his family members had suffered because of the Congress leader’s Patidar agitation in 2015. Gajjar told news agency ANI, “My wife was pregnant when Patidar agitation happened, she was undergoing treatment at a hospital, I had faced problems then, I had decided then, I'll hit this man. I have to teach him a lesson anyhow.”

On March 12, Patel officially joined Congress in Ahmedabad in the presence of party president Rahul Gandhi and senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge. The polling for 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on April 23. The results will be declared on May 23.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2019 11:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).