Riding on Patidar power: Hardik Patel is undoubtedly a trailblazer

The language of reservation, relative deprivation and frustration is a big attention catcher. Hardik Patel combined this with innovative campaign tactics

For one so young (he’s just 28), Hardik Patel has packed in a lot in his life.

He’s run an agitation in Gujarat, party-hopped and it is an irony of our times that he’s returned to precisely the same party against which he had launched his protest. If elements in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat were uncomfortable about Patel joining, they took great care not to show it — though supporters of Anandiben Patel, current Uttar Pradesh governor and former Gujarat chief minister, can be forgiven for asking why the man who contributed the most to deposing her should