Hardik to get engaged after release from jail

Patel reservation agitation spearhead Hardik Patel, who has been in judicial custody since October, is expected to get married once he is released from jail, says his family.

Hardik, who has been lodged in jail under various charges including sedition, is expected to get engaged to Kinjal Patel from his home town Viramgam in north Gujarat as soon as he is freed.

"We are excited about his engagement to Kinjal. She is an extremely nice girl and we are eager to get both of them engaged and married once Hardik comes back home," said Hardik's mother Ushaben.

His father Bharat Patel said Hardik's prospective life partner is supportive of the work done by his son for the community. "Kinjal has lot of respect for his work and is willing to work with him shoulder to shoulder. Both are young and we wish for them a happy life," he said.

According to the family, the engagement has been arranged by both the families and it would have been carried out earlier if the convenor of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) had not been arrested in October last.

Kinjal and Hardik are learnt to be in touch with each other and share letters to and from Lajpore jail in Surat where he has been jailed. It is on suggestion of Kinjal that Hardik is believed to be putting together a book on his agitation for the Patel community.