Is this the end of the road for BJP’s grand old man, Keshubhai Patel in the party? His absence at the state party executive meeting in Rajkot seems to herald that the party leadership have given up on drawing him back into the party fold and believe he has gone too far out to return now — unless he swallows his pride and returns.
At least twice in the last seven years — once in 2005 and then in 2007 — the former chief minister had led a revolt against Modi government but had backed down before the movement reached its logical conclusion. But this time he is firm, sources close to him claim. And the BJP too seems to have acquiesced to it. "How long can the party continue to convince him? That chapter is now closed," an inside source indicated.
His absence was sharply felt at the Rajkot meet and was the subject of quiet discussions over the lavish desserts during the lunch hour. Despite spokesperson Vijay Rupani's assertion that he (Keshubhai) had been invited as he “should be”, reliable sources confided that the invitation would have been cursory formality as it is clear that high command cannot allow him to be a part of crucial strategy formulating meeting.
When repeatedly asked by the media on Saturday evening about Keshubhai's absence, Rupani brushed it off.
As for taking disciplinary action against him, he said it was up to the national leadership to decide, indirectly acceding that there is a need for disciplinary action and it is only a question of when and how.
On Sunday when over 300 BJP office bearers gathered in Rajkot to be briefed by Modi on upcoming poll strategies, Keshubhai was sharing the stage with MJP chief Gordhan Zadaphia at a tribal meeting in Panchmahals. Earlier this week, a complaint was filed against Bapa and a few other leaders for inciting communal emotions at a Patidar meet in Junagadh.
When Sanjay Joshi had resigned from the BJP national executive in Mumbai, Keshubhai had proactively given statements that the party and the Sangh are wrongly bending over for an individual, indirectly targeting Modi. And in the last few months he has stated that Patels and other communities in the state are also living in fear under Modi's rule.
Despite all this, BJP workers talk about Keshubhai with a heavy heart. “He is amongst the founding members of the Saffron party in Gujarat. It is truly unfortunate that this has to happen," a party functionary claims.
