Ahmedabad: Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel on Monday announced the launch of the Gujarat Parivartan Party to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and chief minister Narendra Modi, setting the stage for a possible realignment of political forces in the state. Parivartan in Hindi means change.
Patel and former union textile minister Kanshiram Rana resigned from the BJP on Saturday. Patel had said then that he would launch a political party that would be the “real BJP”.
“For the last 10 years, I was watching how the Modi government was undermining the BJP’s ideology, democracy and constitutional authorities, including the courts. There is no BJP in Gujarat,” he had said on Saturday.
Patel’s decision to start a new party could see a realignment of anti-Modi forces in the state with the Maha Gujarat Janata Party of former state minister Gordhan Zadaphia likely to merge with it.
Zadaphia said a final decision on merging his party with the Gujarat Parivartan Party will be taken in a day or two.
Patel, Rana, former chief minister Suresh Mehta and other anti-Modi politicians were involved in finalizing the name of the new party.
Patel received a boost recently with former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh general secretary Pravin Maniar, a known Modi opponent, coming out openly in support of the former chief minister.
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) general secretary Pravin Togadia said he sympathized with Patel as the veteran had to leave the party because he had not been treated well.
Mint reported on 4 July that the anti-Modi front will contest all 182 seats in the assembly and was looking to project Patel as the chief ministerial candidate, citing Zadaphia.
The rivalry between Patel and Modi goes back to 2001 when the latter replaced him as the chief minister of Gujarat.
