<p>BJP leader Hardik Patel is contesting in the upcoming Gujarat elections after the state's High Court removed a six-year ban that prevented him from entering Mehsana district. The ban was a direct result of the violence that happened during the 2015 Patidar agitation. Patel has now been given a BJP ticket to contest from his native Viramgam Assembly seat.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | </strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/gujarat-assembly-elections-2022-a-brief-history-of-the-patidar-agitation-1157836.html" target="_blank"><strong>Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: A brief history of the Patidar agitation</strong></a></p>.<p>So, why didn't Patel contest the last state Assembly Elections? Though Patel was a well-known name in political circles during the 2015 Assembly polls, he was not qualified to contest as he had not reached age 25 yet.</p>.<p>In 2015, Patel was heading the agitation of Gujarat's Patidar community and began to demand OBC status for them. This would give them reservation in government jobs and education.</p>.<p>The agitation continued with hundreds of arrests and detainments happening across the state along with protests and sporadic violence. Patel, in particular, was arrested multiple times for holding rallies without permission and for threatening to hold a protest before the India vs South Africa ODI in October 2015.</p>.<p>In 2018, Patel was found guilty and was sentenced to two years in jail.</p>.<p>Patel then planned to fight in the 2019 Gujarat Lok Sabha polls but hit a major roadblock when the Gujarat High Court dismissed a plea to stay his conviction in a 2015 riot case. Later, Patel moved the Supreme Court to get relief but the apex court declined to provide an urgent hearing of his plea. As Patel's conviction had not been stayed by the nomination deadline, he could not contest in the polls.</p>.<p>Patel still faces over a dozen criminal cases, including two separate cases of sedition in Surat and Ahmedabad. In June this year, he left his Congress party post as its Gujarat working president and joined the BJP.</p>
<p>BJP leader Hardik Patel is contesting in the upcoming Gujarat elections after the state's High Court removed a six-year ban that prevented him from entering Mehsana district. The ban was a direct result of the violence that happened during the 2015 Patidar agitation. Patel has now been given a BJP ticket to contest from his native Viramgam Assembly seat.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | </strong><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/national-politics/gujarat-assembly-elections-2022-a-brief-history-of-the-patidar-agitation-1157836.html" target="_blank"><strong>Gujarat Assembly Elections 2022: A brief history of the Patidar agitation</strong></a></p>.<p>So, why didn't Patel contest the last state Assembly Elections? Though Patel was a well-known name in political circles during the 2015 Assembly polls, he was not qualified to contest as he had not reached age 25 yet.</p>.<p>In 2015, Patel was heading the agitation of Gujarat's Patidar community and began to demand OBC status for them. This would give them reservation in government jobs and education.</p>.<p>The agitation continued with hundreds of arrests and detainments happening across the state along with protests and sporadic violence. Patel, in particular, was arrested multiple times for holding rallies without permission and for threatening to hold a protest before the India vs South Africa ODI in October 2015.</p>.<p>In 2018, Patel was found guilty and was sentenced to two years in jail.</p>.<p>Patel then planned to fight in the 2019 Gujarat Lok Sabha polls but hit a major roadblock when the Gujarat High Court dismissed a plea to stay his conviction in a 2015 riot case. Later, Patel moved the Supreme Court to get relief but the apex court declined to provide an urgent hearing of his plea. As Patel's conviction had not been stayed by the nomination deadline, he could not contest in the polls.</p>.<p>Patel still faces over a dozen criminal cases, including two separate cases of sedition in Surat and Ahmedabad. In June this year, he left his Congress party post as its Gujarat working president and joined the BJP.</p>
