The media cell also released pictures of a meeting between Patel and Vaghani, and another with Patel and some Patidar community members
Hours after the BJP claimed that influential Leuva Patel community leader Naresh Patel had declared support for it in the coming elections, Shree Khodaldham Trust, the body that Patel heads, rebutted the claims, and asked voters to ignore any such messages.
The media cell of Gujarat BJP sent messages to journalists on Tuesday afternoon stating that Khodaldham Trust chairman Naresh Patel had in a meeting appealed to the Patel community for a win for BJP and state BJP president Jitu Vaghani, who is contesting from Bhavnagar West seat. The media cell also released pictures of a meeting between Patel and Vaghani, and another with Patel and some Patidar community members.
As the message went viral, Khodaldham Trust quickly came out to reject BJP's claim.
"A message has gone viral in social media that Nareshbhai has declared support for a particular party. This is a rumour, and I reject it," Khodaldham Trust president Paresh Gajera said.
Gajera said that Naresh Patel and Jitu Vaghani had met, but it was only a courtesy meeting.
"Khodaldham Trust is a neutral body. It has never declared support for any party, nor has it spoken against any party. Patidar community is connected with all parties, and the Trust respects all parties," he said, while reiterating that "Khodaldham is a non-political organisation, and wants to remain one".
Gajera also asked voters of the community to ignore any such messages and claims in the elections.
Patidar reservation stir leader Hardik Patel, who has announced support for Congress in the elections, too had met Naresh Patel last week. Hardik had said after the meeting that he had cleared doubts that the Khodaldham chairman head. Even at the time, the Trust had reiterated its non-political role.
The Patidars, one of the most influential communities in elections, have traditionally supported BJP in the past few decades, but many in the community are unhappy over denial of reservation benefits to them by the state government. They are said to be considering extending support to other parties, which is why both BJP and Congress are aggressively wooing the community.
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 "Naresh Patel (left) speaks with state BJP chief Jitu Vaghani")
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