Keshubhai launches new party, to contest all 182 seats

Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel on Monday launched a new political outfit called Gujarat Parivartan Party ahead of the assembly elections in the state.

Announcing the launch of the party, Keshubhai said that the GPP would contest all the 182 seats in the state assembly election slated to be held by the end of this year.

"Our party will bring about a change in the present political scenario of the state," he said.

Attacking Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Keshubhai said that he compromised the honour and integrity of the state and his party would strive to restore it.

Keshubhai, who belongs to the numerically important Patel community, has been named as founder chairman of the new party.

The former chief minister, who had brought the BJP to power in Gujarat for the first time in 1995, resigned from the party last Saturday in the wake of differences with Modi.

On the question of RSS support to him, he said that RSS was a non-political organisation and never declared its support to any political party.

"Our party would follow the ideals of Mahatma Gandhi, Ravishankar Maharaj, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indulal Yagnik," he observed.

Keshubhai also announced that Maha Gujarat Janta Party formed by former minister of state for home Gordhan Zadafia would soon merge with his party.

Zadafia said many workers and even leaders from the BJP and the Congress were likely to join the GPP.

The office bearers of the GPP would be appointed later, Keshubhai said.