BHOPAL: The face of 2015 Patidar quota stir, Hardik Patel, made it clear on Saturday that he has no plans to contest the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls.
"I don't have any political ambitions and don't plan to contest the polls. I am fighting for the rights of farmers and the marginalized lot and will continue to do so," Patel told journalists in Indore.
He also confirmed that despite rumours, he has no plans to forge a tie-up with Gujarat strongman Shankarsinh Vaghela, who quit the Congress party on Friday.
"He (Vaghela) is already 77 and has done the right thing considering his age. Neither have I held any talks with him nor am I planning to align with him," said Patel.
However, he didn't rule out aligning with the Congress for the common cause (against the ruling BJP) in both Gujarat and MP.
Launching a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP national president Amit Shah, the 24-year-old Patel leader said there is no chief minister in Gujarat and that the state was being run by those sitting in the national capital.
He demanded loan waivers for farmers, the establishment of National Farmers Commission and a pension scheme for farmers above the age of 50.
Training his guns on the Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Patel said his government is insensitive to farmers' needs. “It is because of this insensitivity that more than 15000 farmers committed suicide in the state in the last 13 years,” he claimed.
Patel also said he'll keep coming to Madhya Pradesh and will hold rallies in all parts of the state. "I am not bothered about efforts to stop me from coming to MP. I'll keep coming here and fight for the rights of the farmers in the state," said Patel.
Patel later left for meetings with farmers in Dewas and Shajapur districts of MP.
Gujarat Assembly polls will be held later this year.