Ahmedabad Aug 24 PTI Patidar community leader Lalji Patel on Tuesday said Patidars will fully utilise the weapon of votes in the next Gujarat Assembly elections due in December 2022 and will boycott those political parties that refuse to accept demands of the community Instead of organising large gatherings which was the hallmark of Patidar quota agitation which rocked Gujarat six years back Patel who heads Sardar Patel Group SPG said Patidar volunteers will now form smaller teams and reach out to every Patidar home to make them aware about their rights and pending demands Though Hardik Patel was the face of the agitation in 2015 seeking the OBC status for Patidars it was SPG that had first raised this demand in Mehsana Before carving his own outfit PAAS Hardik Patel was also part of the SPG Election is the only time when demands are heard Even the government remains under pressure during polls especially when votes of such a large community are at stake Since we are working for the community for so many years we will also take advantage of this situation to make our demands heard and get things done in favour of Patidars Lalji Patel told reporters during a press conference here The Assembly elections in Gujarat are expected to be held in December 2022 Earlier we used to organise large rallies But now we have decided to form smaller teams that would reach out to every Patidar household to spread awareness about their rights During polls Patidars will boycott those political parties which refuse to accept our demands Votes are our primary weapon and we will fully utilise it said Patel The Patidar leader however did not specify the pending demands On the issue of getting the OBC tag for Patels especially when Parliament has passed a favourable bill in this regard Patel said SPG and other community outfits had already submitted required documents and applications with the state OBC Commission to conduct a survey A meeting of all Patidar organisations will be convened soon to rejuvenate our old demand and make a representation to the government in this regard Patidar outfits will also discuss the issue of cancellation of FIRs registered against Patidar agitators as promised by the government in the past said Patel To pay tributes to 14 Patidars who were killed in the violence which followed a large gathering at the GMDC ground in Ahmedabad on August 25 2015 SPG has appealed to Patidars to organise programmes in their localities on the night of August 26 said Patel PTI PJT NSK NSK