'Vadfest' exposes divide in BJP as some MLAs sulk over being

Several BJP legislators from the district today questioned why they were not being involved in the planning of Gujarat government's 'Vadfest', an art and cultural festival to be held in the city from January 23.
State tourism minister Saurabh Patel has been at the forefront of planning and organising the event, which will run for four days this year.
But some MLAs have expressed unhappiness over the upcoming event, claiming that only those leaders who do not hail from the city were involved in organising 'Vadfest'.
In the 2012 Gujarat Assembly polls, Saurabh Patel, who hails from Bhavnagar, had been given the 'safe' seat of Vadodara city although the move had not gone down well with local BJP leaders.

Now, airing their displeasure, some of the legislators said they have not been invited to the cultural extravaganza while others said that the event has now become purely commercial.
Among such legislators are Manjalpur MLA Yogesh Patel, Raopura MLA Rajendra Trivedi and Sayajigung MLA Jitendra Sukhadia.

Trivedi said he will not attend the event as he has not been invited. "Our fight is for principles. We have learnt this from our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Swami Vivekananda. We will not compromise on our self-respect."
On the other hand, Yogesh Patel said, "Since the organiser of this event is Gujarat government, we feel that it is not appropriate for them to charge the public (to attend the event). It has to be free for the people."

Apart from the city-based BJP MLAs, some MLAs from the district, too, expressed resentment. Thus, Ketan Inamdar of Savli Assembly constituency, Balkrishna Patel from Dabhoi and Satish Nishaliya from Karjan seat said that the elected representatives from the district should also be invited for the event.
Meanwhile, the state BJP leadership has tried to pacify these MLAs by holding meetings with them.
One of the MLAs said, "We told the leaders that we are not against the festival. We are just opposing the way it is managed by outsiders who are not aware of the city's cultural legacy. We have conveyed our point of view to the party leadership.