Keshubhai quits BJP Will try to persuade Keshubhai: BJP
May launch his own party ahead of Gujarat elections
Keshubhai Patel, a senior leader and critic of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday resigned from the BJP ahead of Assembly polls in the state.
Mr Patel, who had called Mr Modi a ‘demon’, and former Union minister Kanshiram Rana sent their resignations to BJP chief Nitin Gadkari. Mr Patel is likely to form a new political outfit. Keshubhai Patel was succeeded by Mr Modi as Chief Minister after the former had to resign from the post following the BJP’s defeat in key bypolls in 2001.
After his resignation the former CM has remained marginalised in the state’s politics for quite some time.
Mr Patel, who had been critical of Mr Modi’s style of functioning, had recently met the BJP central leaders demanding a change in state leadership.
After his demand was rejected, he had criticised the party’s central leadership as well.
In Gandhinagar, Mr Patel announced that he would soon launch a new party, which he claimed would be the ‘real BJP’. He also launched a scathing attack on Mr Modi and the saffron party for becoming a ‘oneman outfit’ in Gujarat and ignoring its basic principles.
Lately he had been criticising Mr Modi at public events and had even called him a ‘demon’ while alleging that the situation in Gujarat was worse than the ‘emergency era’.
Mr Patel is considered a powerful leader of the numerically strong Patel community, which is the backbone of the BJP’s support base in Gujarat.
In the wake of veteran leader Keshubhai Patel’s resignation from the party, BJP on Saturday said it will try to prod him to rethink his decision as he is a respected leader who has worked for the party. “Keshubhai Patel is a veteran and very respected leader. He has resigned from the party. We will persuade him not to take any such step in the interest of the nation and the party,” BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said.