BJP rank and file wonders which 'sardar' to appease

RAJKOT: On Thursday, when almost everyone in the BJP is headed for Karamsad, the birthplace of Sardar Patel on his birth anniversary, former chief minister Keshubhai Patel has a different agenda.
While Chief Minister Narendra Modi will address a rally of youth from across the state in Karamsad to launch the next leg of his Gaurav Yatra, the former CM, who likes to be called ‘Chhote Sardar’, will be weighed in blood at Lodhika.
The BJP cadres in Saurashtra don’t know which way to go -- to Karamsad for the BJP yuva rally or to the ‘rakta tula’ programme, organised by the Rajkot-Lodhika Sangh. Most see the programme as a virtual show of strength by Keshubhai, who still carries weight in this part of the state. Both Modi loyalists and Keshubhai supporters have tried to capitalise on the name of Sardar Patel for their own gains.
The Congress isn’t lagging and has organised a youth rally in Bardoli on Thursday, which happens to be Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary.
This is the second time in recent months that Keshubhai will be weighed in blood in Saurashtra. On the last occasion, at Visavadar, his constituency before he shifted to the Rajya Sabha, he had said that he was capable of “snatching back his chair�.
Even the Rajkot-Lodhika Sangh is dominated by Patels who have stood behind him. Organisers say they still see Keshubhai as their leader and nurse a grudge against the BJP leaders for showing him the door unceremoniously.