The Hindu : Modi, Pandya rift worries party

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 30, 2002

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Modi, Pandya rift worries party

By Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR JULY 29 . The ruling BJP in Gujarat may have much to worry about in the Assembly elections. Apart from the growing rift between the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, and the former Chief Minister, Keshubhai Patel, the strained relations between Mr. Modi and his Minister of State for Revenue, Haren Pandya, is causing concern to the party leadership.

Compared to Mr. Modi, the younger Mr. Pandya's stature in the party is too small and the leadership need not have bothered if he was unhappy with the Chief Minister, but on the eve of elections, the exposure of chinks in the armour is a matter of concern to the party.

Though Mr. Pandya, who was a confidant of Mr. Patel in the previous Ministry and was his trusted Minister of State for Home, was among the first few to welcome Mr. Modi when he came as a replacement in October last year, the relations between the two did not last.

It came as a shock to Mr. Pandya when he learnt that Mr. Modi was eyeing his Ellisbridge constituency in Ahmedabad city to contest the byelection to the Assembly.

After initial hesitation, Mr. Pandya turned down the party's suggestion to quit the Assembly to make way for Mr. Modi to contest the bypoll.

Mr. Modi did not take the refusal lightly and though he did not drop Mr. Pandya, who was holding independent charge of the revenue portfolio, from the Cabinet, he sidelined him and had his authority with the bureaucracy curtailed.

Mr. Modi also did not like Mr. Pandya becoming the rallying point for his detractors as Mr. Patel, due to his bad health, stayed away from active politics for some time after his unceremonious exit.

Things came to a head after Mr. Pandya organised a massive BJP youth rally in his constituency which was chaired by the party president, Rajendrasinh Rana, but Mr. Modi was not invited.

It was apparently Mr. Pandya's attempt to prove that he could organise successful rallies without using the Chief Minister's name.

Mr. Modi left a meeting of the 40-member BJP working group last month in protest against the presence of Mr. Pandya.

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Modi, Pandya rift worries party