Gandhinagar hangs between Shah, Patel'

Ahmedabad: While it is almost certain now that BJP patriarch L.K. Advani will not contest from Gandhinagar, suspense over his replacement is heightening by the day. There is a strong buzz that party president Amit Shah will replace him, but the situation is not clear yet.

The BJP had sent a team of three observers to each constituency to collect the opinions of leaders and workers. “We have taken the sense of MLAs and party workers from this constituency. No particular name was suggested, but all workers were of opinion that someone from the national leadership should contest from here,” Dr Nima Acharya, one of the observers and BJP MLA, said.

Though the observers are not saying it, most party workers have reportedly sought Mr Shah as the candidate. He has represented the Sarkhej Assembly segment, which is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, and had successfully managed Mr Advani’s poll campaigns.

But, according to party insiders, political rivalry between Mr Shah and Ms Anandiben Patel, former chief minister and Governor of Madhya Pradesh, was the real reason behind the proposal to get the BJP president to contest from Gandhinagar.

Ms Patel is believed to be keen on her daughter Anar or a close aide getting a nomination for the seat. Her presence in the state in these days is being seen in this context. She had represented the Ghatlodia Assembly segment, which is also part of the Gandhinagar constituency.

An MLA had reportedly suggested Ms Patel’s name for this seat, though there is no chance of her being nominated for the Lok Sabha election. In this scenario, it is possible that Mr Shah’s supporters might have demanded a ‘national leadership’ candidate just to silence the Anandiben Patel camp.

Party leaders feel Mr Shah contesting from Gandhinagar it will give a huge momentum in favour of the party. The state parliamentary board is meeting at Gandhinagar to finalise the candidates.