'I disagree with much of Modi's politics, but it cannot be denied that in these years in office, he has carved more than a niche for himself in history,' points out Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Veteran politician Keshubhai Patel, who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party earlier this year to take on Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the coming Gujarat assembly elections, on Saturday said the people of the state desired a change of government. "After my parivartan yatra through the state, I felt that the undercurrent seeking to change this non-performing government is strong, especially amongst the poor and jobless youth," said Patel.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat was unable to end its 18-year jinx in Visavadar as it lost the bypolls to Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party despite a strong campaign.
'With tears in his eyes, he told me in Gujarati, "What have they done to this country? It has so much potential." That feeling for the country -- it was striking.'
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi called on Bharatiya Janata Party rebel Keshubhai Patel at his residence to seek the blessings. After being sworn-in as chief minister for the third consecutive time, Modi visited Patel's home in Gandhinagar on Tuesday. Keshubhai, a former chief minister, was issued a notice along with some other BJP leaders last week, for hurting the interests of the party during the elections
Let there be no doubt that Modi in these 24 years so far has reshaped politics and governance considerably, if not completely, asserts Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, author, Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times.
Details of the meeting are yet to emerge.
In the last 11 years, India and the world witnessed what he stood for, what he promised and did not deliver, and what he actually stood for and practised without fearing how history would judge him. Modi's tenure has been punctuated with headline-grabbing decisions, symbolic gestures, and stage-managed moments that continue to define his leadership and India's politics, points out Ramesh Menon.
Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel died in Ahmedabad on Thursday after prolonged illness, family sources said. Patel (92) had recovered from Covid-19 recently and was rushed to a hospital in Ahmedabad on Thursday morning following health complications, the sources said.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi may find the going tough for the upcoming assembly elections as his predecessor and Bharatiya Janata Party warhorse, Keshubhai Patel, is mobilising politically influential Patel community which can tilt the power balance in the state.
In a development that could hurt the chances of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Saurashtra, Bharat Patel, son of rebel BJP leader Keshubhai Patel, on Friday rejected the offer of fighting the Assembly election on BJP ticket.
The Modi-baiter who is on a mission to mobilise support for the ouster of the BJP stalwart seems to have made up his mind to float a new party.
Modi drove to the residence of Patel, who fell out with the BJP stalwart and floated his own party ahead of the election, in Gandhinagar to meet him. "Modiji had come to seek blessings after his win in the elections. I congratulated him for the win," Patel said after Modi's visit.
If Kejriwal is arrested, it will take very little for Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to summon a meeting of the assembly, direct it to elect a new leader of the House, and, if it doesn't, dissolve it and impose President's Rule, predicts Aditi Phadnis.
Soon after his arrival in the morning at the Ahmedabad airport for a two-day Gujarat visit, Modi directly reached Patel's residence in Gandhinagar and offered floral tributes to the veteran politician, who headed the first BJP-led government in the state in 1995.
Bhupendra Patel can never really break free of intervention from New Delhi. But if he can win over the Gujaratis and improve the BJP's tally substantially, he will have proved that he should be taken seriously.
Gujarat assembly poll results have shown that former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, who formed his own party just before the elections with the aim of dislodging his bete noire Narendra Modi, has failed to inspire voters in his own Saurashtra region, which more or less tilted towards the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Rebel Bharatiya Janata Party leader Keshubhai Patel, who announced the formation of a new party to take on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the upcoming assembly polls, is likely to be projected as the chief ministerial candidate of the anti-Modi outfit and is hoping that a large number of dissident BJP workers will crossover.
A high-level meeting, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Saturday discussed ways to make the Somnath temple complex in Gujarat more attractive for tourists and create the related infrastructure for the purpose.
Former ministers have either maintained silence or supported the `no-repeat' formula adopted by the top Bharatiya Janata Party leadership.
When a former police constable was appointed Gujarat unit chief, everyone was surprised. Now workers are laying bets on when he will be elevated to the Union Cabinet, notes Aditi Phadnis.
The Congress also claimed that the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP was the "B-team" of the BJP in Gujarat.
In a major blow to the recently formed Gujarat Parivartan Party floated by former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel, his son Bharat on Monday rejoined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Ahmedabad.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and chief ministers of various BJP-ruled states attended the ceremony.
AAP could make its presence felt. But Gadhvi may have to wait for a chance to get the top job.
Five-time MLA Parshottam Solanki, who is also known as 'Bhai' among his followers, has been winning Bhavnagar-Rural with a comfortable margin.
As the election approaches, the earthquake survivors and the scientists urge political parties to take note of warning signs before it's too late.
This year, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been conferred Padma Vibhushan for his achievement in the field of public affairs.
Taking further his political battle against Chief Minister Narendra Modi, dissident Bharatiya Janata Party leader Keshubhai Patel has expressed his willingness to contest upcoming assembly elections in the state.
Though Narendra Modi's development has bypassed this district, first time voter's are rooting for the chief minister, says Shandilya Trivedi
Congress candidate from Maninagar, Shweta Bhatt, on Sunday appealed Keshubhai Patel-led Gujarat Parivartan Party to withdraw its candidate from the fray.
The wife of slain former Bharatiya Janata Party minister Haren Pandya, Jagruti, on Thursday announced that she will contest polls from Ellisbridge constituency of the city on Gujarat Parivartan Party ticket to get "justice for her husband from people's court."
The Election Commission on Monday rejected the nomination papers of the Congress candidate for Visavadar for not providing original mandate in time, paving the way for a straight fight between former Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and the Bharatiya Janata Party's candidate.
BJP legislator Kanu Kalsaria first rebelled against Modi by dragging the state government to Supreme Court, that too successfully, in opposing, now cancelled Nirma Cement plant in coastal Mahuva area of Bhavnagar, from where he is an elected MLA.
Gujarat Parivartan Party President Keshubhai Patel on Wednesday said Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra should first make his expenses on foreign trips public before raising questions over expenditure incurred on Sonia Gandhi's foreign tours.
Former Chief Ministers Keshubhai Patel and Shankarsinh Vaghela, besides 15 of the 17 members in the Modi cabinet were also among those administered oath by Pro-tem Speaker Neema Acharya.
Continuing his campaign against the Gujarat chief minister, disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party leader Keshubhai Patel on Sunday alleged that Narendra Modi holds "monopoly over lying" and questioned his motive behind the Sadbhavna Mission.
Taking umbrage at Navjot Singh Sidhu's remark in which he termed him as an "anti-national leader", Gujarat Parivartan Party president Keshubhai Patel on Saturday appealed to the Election Commission to take suo motu action against the Bharatiya Janata Party MP and his party.
Of cricket bats and kabbadi ads in the Gujarat poll
The Gujarat Parivartan Party, led by Bharatiya Janata Party rebel and former chief minister Keshubhai Patel, will contest the forthcoming assembly elections on the symbol of a cricket bat. In a major relief to the new entrant in the election fray, the Election Commission of India on Wednesday rejected BJP's complaint for disallowing GPP from using this symbol.
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