The mighty Patel show of strength in Surat was nipped in the bud as stalwart and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, on whose expected presence the entire Patel bandwagon was mobilised, abstained from the Patidar Sammelan on Monday. Ahead of the Assembly polls, it was meant to be a sort of rebellion by the anti-Modi camp and a clarion call indicating the end of the Modi Government. Instead, it ended with a whimper with not more than one lakh people, mostly Surat’s diamond workers hailing from Saurashtra, attending the meeting where about 5 lakh Patels were expected. While BJP insiders say that Keshubhai might have been forced by the party high command not to be seen as fueling a rebellion, the Modi faction in Gujarat BJP showed it as a proof that the wind is still blowing their way. “How else would you explain the absence of even other Patel leaders from the BJP in the programme. None except for the known rebels have been associated with the campaign,” said an office-bearer, adding: “It turned out to be a wedding party without a groom in the end.” Fearing that Chief minister Narendra Modi might influence the party high command to deny them tickets in the upcoming Assembly polls, even many pro-Keshubhai Patel MLAs stayed away from the meet. Of the18 Patel MLAs from Saurashtra only three, Tapu Libasiya, Bavku Unghad, and Balu Tanti, were part of the campaign. Not a single new name joined the old rebel faces. State BJP chief Purushottam Rupala’s said that Keshubhai’s name was only being misused by a section in the party. “He might not have wanted the way things turned out to be,” Rupala said. Understandably, CM Narendra Modi seems to be having the last laugh. “This was being billed as a cyclone with a large potential for damage, but it petered out,” said a leader close to Modi. VHP international General Secretary Praveen Togadia, BJP MP from Rajkot Dr Vallabh Kathiriya and other BJP and Congress leaders were present. However, Keshubhai’s supporters are still putting it up as a part of a larger strategy. “After all this mobilisation means that next time when he goes to the party high command, he can tell them that he is a disciplined soldier and needs larger role in its working,” said a Keshubhai loyalist.
