Indicating that a reconciliation with the BJP may be on the cards, expelled leader Uma Bharati, now president of the Bharatiya Janshakti Party (BJS), on Wednesday ordered her party’s Gujarat unit to withdraw all its candidates from the Assembly elections.

However, her order sparked off an immediate rebellion in the Gujarat BJS which has decided to remain in the electoral fray. The BJS has already declared a list of 27 candidates, which includes three rebel BJP MLAs.

The BJP, on its part, played it cool. Party spokesperson Prakash Javdekar said “it (Uma’s return) is not under consideration at all.” He added: “Neither the party president nor Modi have welcomed her back to the party.”

In a letter to Gujarat BJS president Chaitanya Shambhu Maharaj, Bharati today asked the party candidates to “retreat and withdraw” their nominations. “If our presence in Gujarat benefits the anti-national forces in any way, we’ll have nothing with us but repentance,” she wrote.

Her spiritual guru, Visveshtirtha Swami of Pejavaradhokshaja Mutt, also issued a press statement stating: “I have instructed my disciple Uma Bharati that it will be advisable for her to consolidate the Hindu forces by withdrawing the candidates.”

But party in-charge for the Gujarat polls Umesh Dutta Mathur denied receiving any such order from Bharati, and said there was no question of withdrawing candidates.

Echoing his stand, former BJP MLA from Bhavnagar Sunil Ojha and sitting BJP MLA from Balasinor Rajesh Pathak — who are both contesting on BJS tickets — said there was no looking back after filing their nomination papers.

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