The 23-year-old pro-quota stir leader Hardik Patel left for Udaipur in Rajasthan and initiated his exile for the next six months to comply with the conditional bail granted to him by the Gujarat High Court. The High Court has directed him to leave Gujarat within 48 hours of his release.
A large number of supporters greeted Patel at Gujarat-Rajasthan border to bid him adieu. The Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) convener started his journey for Udaipur around 7.30 am from his hometown Viramgam and reached Rajasthan by afternoon.
A PAAS leader said that Patel was supposed to visit different towns of north Gujarat and had even planned few road-shows there but he cut all these events short and directly drove to Rajasthan.
Hardik will stay at a farm house of former Congress MlA Pushkarlal Patel, who also belongs to the Patidar community. He came out of Surat's lajpore jail following conditional bail in two different sedition cases as well as a case related to pro-quota agitation at Gujarat town Visnagar.
After his release, Patel held a series of road-shows and visited his home town Viramgam. As he arrived near Gujarat-Rajasthan border, he told the media that he would continuously work for the original demand for reservation to Patidar youths in Government jobs. He said the pro-quota agitation would be continued even during his exile from Gujarat.
Sources in the PAAS said that Patel would travel the country to create awareness among the Patidars (Kurmis) on getting reservation. Speculations are also on that he might contest Gujarat Assembly election from one of the Patidar-dominated constituency in 2017.