Friend Modi wishes foe on birthday

If this was an attempt by Modi to show the rebels, through a photo-op, that he could still get Patel on his side, Patel foiled all his plans. Strict instructions were passed to the media by Patel’s men that no camera would be allowed in so long as Modi was around. After spending about five minutes with the family, Modi left without interacting with the media. With Modi gone, mediapersons were invited in and offered sweets.

“You know who invited you here,” he said when the media asked him why Modi had come. Interestingly, it was through a string of text messages from the CM’s official machinery that the media came to know of Modi’s courtesy call on Patel.

Patel sat in the drawing room with his son Bharat and some well wishers. When asked to comment on the suspensions, he reminded mediapersons of his earlier stand of not discussing party matters in public. “But I did discuss it with party President Rajnath Singh on Monday. The meeting lasted over an hour and I can only hope that our genuine concerns would be addressed,” he said. However, sources informed that in the meeting Patel informed Singh that he would not be part of the party campaign in the ensuing polls.

Meanwhile, two more MLAs Narendrasinh Jadeja (Abdasa) and Gopal Dhuva (Mundra) have joined the dissident group in Visavadar, where a farmers’ meet was organised by Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti. The new entrants Dhuva and Jadeja are considered close to former CM Suresh Mehta.