Ahmedabad, December 3
The troubles for Narendra Modi know no end. Days after former Chief Minister and Narendra Modi rival Suresh Mehta quit the Bharatiya Janata Party, another foe of Modi, Keshubhai Patel, is all set to walk out of the saffron outfit.

That Keshubhai is no fan of Modi was an ill-kept secret for the past five years, but the grand old man from the Patel community has finally decided to make a break with the saffron party.

The buzz in Ahmedabad is that Patel is waiting to be expelled by the BJP central leadership so that he can inflict serious damages on the BJP in the Kutch region. The Patels as a community, who are a political force in parts of Gujarat, have played a major role in the formation of successive governments in the state.

But if any humiliation to Keshubhai translates as an insult to the entire community, even Modi would find the going tough in his own Maninagar constituency. The seat on the fringes of Ahmedabad city has a sizeable population of Patels and the Congress candidate Dinsha Patel is a much-respected leader of the community. That Dinsha Patel has worked at preserving the legacy of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in the face of indifference from the BJP administration is already ranking the community.

The BJP has gone into damage control mode after the latest salvo from Patel hit the newspapers this morning. An advertisement by the Sardar Patel Utkarsh Samiti (SPUS) had pictures and quotes of Keshubhai Patel calling for a regime change in Gujarat. However, party leaders refused to comment on the advertisement saying Keshubhai was not directly associated with the advertisement.

The SPUS is fronted by prominent BJP rebel Gordhan Zadaphia, an acolyte of Keshubhai and a Modi baiter.

The advertisement uses harsh words against Modi, calling him a dictator who needs to be dethroned in order to save Gujarat. “We have put out this advertisement to remind people that Keshubhai was saddened by his ill-treatment at the hands of Modi,” Zadaphia told reporters later in the day. Several quotes by Keshubhai against Modi issued in the past find prominent display in the advertisement.

Zadaphia, however, refused to say if Keshubhai would formally quit the party. On his part, Keshubhai remains inaccessible to the media.

The half-page advertisement said, “A dictator has taken over power in the state and time has come to remove him”.

“Keshubhai is very sad. He is not going to participate in BJP’s election campaign. He feels that Gujarat is suffering under the present regime. People should think that he has taken this decision with a heavy heart. Don’t sit at home... come out and vote for a change of regime,” the ad copy went.

Shortly after the BJP leaders realised the impact of the advertisement, an announcement was made that Chief Minister Narendra Modi was calling off his campaign for the day as his helicopter had developed a snag.

PTI adds: Talking to reporters in Gandhinagar, Patel said the ads were not given by him but it was a compilation of his previous speeches.

“I have not given the advertisement. It is a compilation of my speeches given at various places and published in the newspapers. I am not denying that I have not said what has been published but I have not made the appeal”, he said.

Asked if he had any objection to the advertisement, Keshubhai said, where was the question of objection.

Queried if he wanted people not to vote for the BJP, Patel said, “I don’t have to say anything more than this.”