Ahmedabad/Rajkot: Former Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel today resigned as MLA, in a move indicating his exit from active politics owing to failing health even as BJP invited him to return to its fold.
"I have submitted the resignation owing to my health," the wheelchair-bound leader told reporters after submitting his resignation to Speaker Vajubhai Vala.
The resignation came a day after he strongly hinted while talking to his supporters in Visavadar that he will step down as a legislator.
He had also said his Gujarat Parivartan Party should merge with a national party other than Congress, which is viewed as an apparent reference to BJP.
The former chief minister, who was removed unceremoniously in 2001 to pave the way for Narendra Modi's rise, had floated GPP before 2012 assembly elections.
Mr Patel had stepped down as GPP president last month after his son Bharat crossed over to BJP.
Mr Patel told reporters that he made it clear to Mr Mathur that his health is his first priority.
Mr Patel, whose political career spans over five decades, had become chief minister for first time in 1995. He started as a Jan Sangh worker in 1960 and later became a founding pillar of BJP in Gujarat, taking the saffron party to the grassroots.
"I have submitted the resignation owing to my health," the wheelchair-bound leader told reporters after submitting his resignation to Speaker Vajubhai Vala.
The resignation came a day after he strongly hinted while talking to his supporters in Visavadar that he will step down as a legislator.
He had also said his Gujarat Parivartan Party should merge with a national party other than Congress, which is viewed as an apparent reference to BJP.
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The former chief minister, who was removed unceremoniously in 2001 to pave the way for Narendra Modi's rise, had floated GPP before 2012 assembly elections.
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Mr Patel had stepped down as GPP president last month after his son Bharat crossed over to BJP.
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Mr Patel told reporters that he made it clear to Mr Mathur that his health is his first priority.
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Mr Patel, whose political career spans over five decades, had become chief minister for first time in 1995. He started as a Jan Sangh worker in 1960 and later became a founding pillar of BJP in Gujarat, taking the saffron party to the grassroots.
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