Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel’s son Bharat Patel may re-join the BJP before the announcement of lok Sabha elections, said highly placed sources in the Gujarat unit of the BJP.
Bharat was active in the BJP till his father Keshubhai was forced to step down as Gujarat Chief Minister to make way for current CM Narendra Modi in October 2001. However, he resigned from the party when Keshubhai decided to form his own political outfit Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) along with another former Gujarat Chief Minister Suresh Mehta, former Minister of State for Home Gordhan Zadaphia, former Union Textile Minister Kashiram Rana and others before the last Assembly elections in 2012. However, his party couldn’t perform as per expectation and managed to win only from two constituencies.
However, with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s elevation as BJP’s prime ministerial candidate political equations have changed. Even after winning for the third consecutive time in the Assembly elections, Modi straight away went to Keshubhai’s residence to seek his blessings. He did the same when he was made prime ministerial candidate.
If sources in the BJP are to be believed, Bharat has been given choice to fight upcoming lok Sabha election or he can fight from his father’s traditional Visavadar Assembly constituency in Junagadh district. Confirming the development, a Saurashtra-based BJP leader said that Bharat Patel is in contact with the BJP leaders.
It is worth mentioning that for the last three-four months Gujarat’s political circle is abuzz with Keshubhai’s re-entry in the BJP. It became stronger when the founder of GPP remained absence in the Gujarati New Year get-together function organised by his own party after Diwali. In second such incident, Keshubhai didn’t attend an important function organised by the GPP to woo backward class in Ahmedabad on the grounds of ill health.