In a development that could dampen plans of the Narendra Modi-camp to retain influential Patel support in Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Bharat Patel, son of rebel BJP leader Keshubhai Patel, on Friday rejected BJP?s offer to contest upcoming Assembly election on the party symbol.
Knowing well the potential of the Patel community in the region, which had elected 40 MLAs out of 52 candidates in the last Assembly, the central leadership of the party with the help of RSS approached Keshubhai Patel, the angry old man of the Gujarat BJP, and urged him to allow his son to contest from Visavadar constituency as a BJP candidate.
?Suresh Soni, who looks after BJP affairs in the RSS, met Keshubhai last week and tried to persuade him to allow Bharat to contest on party ticket,? sources in the party said adding that BJP leadership was hopeful that the offer would prove to be a meeting point between the two warring factions in the state.
The party, however, is not taking Bharat Patel?s decision as final. ?Attempts to persuade him (Patel) will still continue,? the sources said.
Bharat Patel, in a statement said, ?I was offered the BJP ticket. I pondered over it for three to four days and have now decided to reject the offer.?