Ahmedabad: A big blow to the aspirations of Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who recently joined the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha elections, as he will not be able to do so.

Hardik Patel is convicted in Mehsana rioting case. The Mehsana case pertains to violence, arson and attack on the office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rushikesh Patel in Visnagar of Mehsana district, in 2015. Patel is one of the accused in the case.

Patel had approached the Gujarat High Court on March 8 seeking a stay on the conviction by a lower court in the Mehsana case, pleading that he was not present at the spot during the violence. However, the court rejected his plea.

Patel is disqualified from contesting the upcoming elections as per the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The High Court observed that there are several criminal cases against Patel and as many as 17 FIRs. Justice Uraizee also cited the number of cases against him before rejecting his plea.

Patel was convicted in the Mehsana case by a lower court which sentenced him to two-year imprisonment for rioting and arson in Visnagar during the 2015 Patidar quota stir. However, the Gujarat High Court later granted him a bail, but the conviction was not stayed.

Hardik Patel had proposed to contest from Jamnagar constituency and the Congress has not yet announced any candidate for the constituency.