Modi's arch rival Keshubhai Patel sees future PM in him

Rajkot, April 30 : Former Gujarat chief minister Keshubhai Patel surprised all Thursday when he said his arch rival and sucessor Narendra Modi has 'all the qualities to become a prime minister'.

"I think Narendra Modi has all the qualities required by any leader to become the prime minister of the country," Patel told reporters here.

He, however, added there was no dearth of leaders in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) eligible for the prime minister's post.

The veteran BJP leader was echoing the remarks made in the past week by party leaders Arun Shourie and Arun Jaitley, terming Modi a future prime ministerial candidate - after L.K. Advani.

Patel, who cast his vote at the Saraswati High School here, was replaced with Modi in October 2001. He later supported a rebellion by a section of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators and functionaries against Modi.

As the party's central leadership backed Modi, Patel and his supporters have been left sulking. Patel's followers like former central ministers Vallabh Kathiria and Kashiram Rana were denied the party tickets to contest Lok Sabha polls.