24 Keshubhai loyalists contesting on BJP ticket

As many as 24 loyalists of rebel Bharatiya Janata Party veteran leader Keshubhai Patel are contesting the election in Gujarat on BJP tickets in different assembly constituencies, including the Saurashtra region, indicating that all rebels were not against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP sources said among the 24 Keshubhai loyalists, 19 are sitting MLAs, four are former MLAs and Dilip Sanghani is a former MP.

Reacting to recent advertisements which appeared in the local dailies given by the Sardar Patel Utkarsha Samiti, formed by BJP's dissidents, BJP sources said they were using the old speeches of Keshubhai Patel to get mileage out of it.

Coverage: Gujarat Elections 2007

However, they argued that people of the state never support dissident groups and the forthcoming election result will give them a big jolt.

The advertisement, with a gloomy picture of Patel, carried a few lines in the Samiti's name informing voters that he had decided not to campaign for the BJP because he felt that Gujarat's interests were being compromised by the present regime.

Meanwhile, Patel turned down a request from the BJP central leadership to campaign for the party candidates in the polls.