Gujarat: Keshubhai takes on Modi but does he pack the punch?

By Sanjukta Pathak Ahmedabad: The ageing Keshubhai Patel, the old BJP war horse who broke loose from the party a few days ago, has made his move and he promises to make the assembly polls in Gujarat interesting. His party has a clear anti-Narendra Modi agenda. Its attempt, as the veteran leader has revealed to the media without mincing words, is not so much about getting power as about throwing Modi out of it. Interestingly, Keshubhai wants to revive the BJP of the old. For those familiar with the state of affairs of the party in the state, the import of his claim is not difficult to grasp. Modi has become far too bigger than the BJP in Gujarat and the personality culture has left many party old hands in existential crisis. Keshubhai has made it clear on many occasions earlier that an individual—Modi—has overshadowed the organisation by unabashed self-promotion. All the achievements of Modi are being projected as his personal success story, not the BJP’s.[caption id=“attachment_407613” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Keshubhai Patel. AFP[/caption] It is clear that the former chief minister wants to benefit from the growing disenchantment within the party over the preponderance of Modi. BJP members at the ground level also have issues with the lack of demarcation between government and the party. Sources say, in the last five years hardly any new recruitment activity has happened to strengthen the party. Keshubhai, of course, understands that this is not enough to destabilise Modi. “I am leaving with a lot of pain. The present BJP has become insensitive towards the people. When the situation is like this, I cannot remain silent. That is the reason I have decided to form a new party which will be the real BJP. At this age, I am not forming a new party for power. My only aim is to give a better alternative to the people of the state,” he said while launching his Gujarat Parivartan Party. He is trying some social and political engineering too. He commands considerable respect among the Leuva Patels, an electorally important community, of the Saurashtra region. He has been trying to mobilise the community for sometime now. He is backed in his efforts by former Union minister Kashiram Rana and the founder of the Mahagujarat Janata Party, Gordhan Zadaphia. Given the recent humiliating treatment meted out to Sanjay Joshi, an old RSS hand, by Modi, sections of the RSS and the VHP are expected to throw their weight behind Keshubhai. The Keshubhai-led alliance is also likely to capture to the sections of society who find themselves at receiving end of Modi’s industry-friendly policies. In his speeches, Keshubhai gives an indication that the poor and the middle-class have much to be unhappy about in Modi’s Gujarat. Issues of malnutrition and poor human index performance also need careful scrutiny in the state. The state, of late, has faced protests against the sale of pasture land to industrial houses, thus causing some resentment in the farming community. The Congress has also been claiming that all policies friendly to the poor, including free housing, have been discontinued. Keshubhai aims to latch on to the pockets of discontentment. At the launch of his party, he insisted his aim was to bring justice and development to all sections of society. The turn of events promises to make Narendra Modi’s claim to power yet again wee bit difficult. He will now need to draw up a strategy aimed at his own party members and not only against the arch rival in the state – the Congress.