New shape to battle The launch of a party by Keshubhai Patel and Kashram Rana,two leaders till then known for backing out of such plans at the last moment,has set the stage for an election likely to be fought on caste lines rather than communal lines. Former chief minister Keshubhai will take on incumbent Modi by invoking the Patel pride. Keshubhai is counting on the support of his longtime aide Gordhanbhai Zadaphia who,however,seems to have had second thoughts after having announced a wish to to merge his party into Keshubhais. The day Keshubhai and Kashiram quit the BJP,Zadaphia said,We will decide in a couple of days. He was apparently hesitant about playing second fiddle after having headed a party. A merger would work for both sides,combining the Zadaphia-led partys grassroots network and Keshubhais mass appeal. Lending a shoulder An RTI activist may have unearthed land allotments made to those close to Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Dilip Sanghani,but the latter is unfazed. In fact,he has shouldered the responsibility for another allegation of favouritism,this one made against his deputy Parsottambhai Solanki. The governor has cleared the prosecution of Solanki for granting fishery contracts worth Rs 400 crore,apparently to favoured beneficiaries,without tenders being called for. Sanghani now says he had cleared that file himself and that Solanki,who had no authority to do so,is being persecuted. All this could end up affecting the chances of both leaders of getting tickets to the Assembly elections due in December. Fault-finding tour Study tours are supposed to be a means of gathering information elsewhere and using that for improving things at home. So,when a team from the Ahmedabad municipal school board visited Kerala to study the education system there,it was expected that it would bring home and put to use the experience of their counterparts in a state that boasts one of the highest literacy rates in the country. But what the team returned with was feedback on what Kerala lacks in comparison with Gujarat. Members of the team,which was headed by board chairman Dr Jagdish Bhavsar and administrative officer Dr L D Desai,say Kerala is far behind Gujarat in,for example,the implementation of RTE Act.
