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Pathak, who according to sources was about to go the Jaswant Singh way, was called by Singh for a meeting yesterday late evening. The senior politician had scheduled a press conference in Ahmedabad today morning to announce his decision after BJP denied him ticket for the general elections. The press conference was cancelled at the last moment after Singh's phone call to Pathak asking him to meet to discuss the ticket issue.
Pathak, on Sunday had expressed his displeasure over his party denying him ticket for the 2014 L ok Sabha elections and said that he was 'hurt' by the decision, but denied being targeted for being close to Advani.
He had then announced that he would talk to his supporters in his constituency and then decide on further course of action after BJP denied him ticket. Following Pathak's announcement his supporters observed a shutdown in Dehgam town on Monday and burnt effigies of actor Paresh Rawal who replaced the seven-time MP for the Ahmebabad east seat. Source in the BJP said that the workers in the party were aghast at the decision and wanted the party top brass to rethink.
When asked if BJP prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi was behind him being denied ticket, Pathak had said that the decision was that of the party's parliamentary board. Pathak, when questioned if Modi has become bigger than the party, said, "Nobody is bigger than the party, party is big and party worker is bigger than the party as he makes it."
