Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti leader Hardik Patel on Friday said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had invited him to join the Trinamool Congress. The leader from Gujarat met Trinamool chief Banerjee at the state secretariat in Kolkata.

“I said I will give her proposal a serious thought if I decide to join active politics,” Patel told reporters, according to the Hindustan Times. “I have also requested her to visit Gujarat and enlighten the women there.”

Comparing Banerjee to Indira Gandhi, Patel said she was the only leader in the country who had made political achievements after years of struggle. “She is a woman with a lifetime of experience in mass movements. She is wise, she is a veteran in popular struggle...She should be promoted and brought to the fore,” according to The Telegraph. “I have only read about Mahatma Gandhi, but Mamata didi comes across to me as a Lady Gandhi,” he added.

Patel said all Opposition parties should come together before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and Banerjee should be the face of this united opposition. “Congress and Trinamool Congress are the two biggest opposition forces in the country right now,” he added.

Banerjee said Patel like her “younger brother”. “He is fighting the good fight for the people of Gujarat,” The Telegraph quoted Banerjee as saying. “I wish him all the best. I requested him to join politics. It will be the right choice if he does.”