Hardik Patel eligible to contest Gujarat polls after SC stays conviction in rioting case

In a big boost for Congress ahead of the Gujarat Assembly polls due late this year, the Supreme Court stayed the conviction of Hardik Patel in a 2015 rioting case. In July 2018, a sessions court in Mehsana district had sentenced the Gujarat Congress working president to two years of imprisonment for rioting and arson at Visnagar town during the Patidar quota agitation spearheaded by him in 2015. While the Gujarat High Court suspended his sentence in August 2018 itself, it refused to stay his conviction in the case.

As a convict facing a jail term of two years or more cannot contest an election, Patel was barred from contesting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On Tuesday, a bench of the SC comprising Justices S Abdul Nazeer and Vikram Nath was hearing a plea filed by the Gujarat Congress working president challenging the High Court order. Appearing for him before the apex court, senior advocate Maninder Singh contended that not allowing his client to contest an election construes a violation of the freedom of expression and claimed that the state government is misusing police powers.

On the other hand, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stressed that the matter must be decided in accordance with parameters in criminal law. He also pointed out that there is one case against Patel under Section 395 of the IPC which is really serious. However, the court ruled,  "Having heard Senior Counsel Maninder Singh and having regard to the facts and circumstances, we are of the view that this is the fit case for High Court to have stayed the conviction. The conviction is, hereby, stayed until the appeals are decided accordingly". Thus, Patel will now be eligible to contest the 2022 Gujarat Assembly election. 

Gujarat Assembly election

Gujarat has proved to be an impregnable fortress for BJP as it has been winning the Assembly polls in the state since 1995. In the 2017 election, there was a nail-biting contest between the saffron party and Congress which was bolstered by the fiery campaign of Hardik Patel, Jignesh Mevani and Alpesh Thakor. In the end, BJP won 99 seats in the 182-member Assembly whereas the Sonia Gandhi-led party bagged an impressive 77 seats. After a series of defections though, BJP currently has 111 seats in the state Assembly as compared to Congress' 64 seats. Amid a weakened Congress unit, AAP is seeking to make inroads in Gujarat.