AHMEDABAD: Patidar leader Hardik Patel purportedly met Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, for about 40 minutes at The Ummed hotel in the city on Monday, triggering speculation that the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) mustier might join a "broader" anti-BJP coalition. On the same day, OBC leader Alpesh Thakur united with the Congress at a public meeting in Gandhinagar.

The “Top secret" meeting reportedly took place after Hardik had claimed that he would not be able to meet the Gandhi heir on Monday morning as he would be at a public function in Mandal town, 87km from Ahmedabad. Hardik reached Mandal around 7.30pm on Monday to talk to the meeting and expressed regret for the delay.

Five footage from CCTV, recorded between 11.53pm on Sunday night and 4.14pm on Monday, showed Hardik entering and leaving the hotel. Gandhi was at The Ummed from Monday morning, while AICC member in-charge of Gujarat, Ashok Gehlot, had been holding meetings there since late Sunday evening.

Sources assured that Rahul met Hardik at the hotel along with Nikhil Savani, Alpesh, Gehlot and Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki.  Nikhil Savani, the PAAS co-convener who give up the BJP on Monday.

After the CCTV clips surfaced, Hardik said he had met Congress leaders but deprived of having the meeting with Rahul on Monday. "I have not met Rahul Gandhi, but I met Ashok Gehlot and Gujarat Congress president Bharatsinh Solanki to talk about the issues touching the Patidar community, including OBC quota,” Hardik said.

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