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These are testing times for the Bharatiya Janata Party cadre in Ahmedabad.
All eyes are on Chief Minister Narendra Modi who is adamant on stamping his authority in the state by denying the party ticket to arch rival Haren Pandya, a former minister and MLA from Ellisbridge in Ahmedabad.
"It's a test case. If Pandya is denied the ticket, it will mean Modi is now in a position to overrule Delhi too," a party insider said.
Pandya was the home minister when Modi replaced Keshubhai Patel as chief minister of Gujarat.
In the Cabinet reshuffle that followed, he was shifted from the home ministry because he was perceived to be a Keshubhai confidant.
Modi and Pandya's tussle started on a low key but blew up when Pandya refused to vacate his Ellisbridge seat to enable Modi to enter the state assembly.
Pandya proudly claims that in Gujarat the BJP only contests 181 of the 182 assembly seats as the result of Ellisbridge is a forgone conclusion.
A popular politician, Pandya is also a fine manipulator of the complex equations within the Sangh Parivar.
Unlike Modi, his relations with local journalists as well as those in Delhi are unmatched and a matter of envy for the Modi camp.
Every action and skirmish between Modi and Pandya is reported in the press, which has invited Modi's ire.
The tussle between the two senior BJP leaders worsened when Pandya appeared before a 'Citizen's Tribunal' in the aftermath of the rioting that followed the train burning incident in Godhra.
It's alleged that Pandya blamed the Modi government for inciting riots.
Ghanshyam Shah, a member of the tribunal, has told rediff.com that Pandya did indeed appear before the panel.
Seizing the opportunity, Modi got Pandya to quit the ministry. However, the continued support of the cadres has emboldened Pandya.
Several BJP leaders sympathise with him while Keshubhai is backing him to the hilt. Pandya is, in fact, perceived as being Patel's proxy.
In the 11 days that state BJP leaders discussed in detail the potential of candidates for each seat, Modi did not utter a word on Pandya's candidature.
He struck after candidates for most of the seats had been finalised opposing Pandya's candidature from Ellisbridge.
Modi has told the BJP high command that Pandya is behind the media's hate campaign against him.
At one point, he is believed to have told the central leadership that if Pandya was given a ticket, he would not fight the election though no party leader is willing to confirm this threat.
Nursing an ambition to win the Gujarat election and emerge as the future leader of the BJP, Modi is finding Pandya to be a stumbling block who dares to question his actions.
Modi wants Pandya out of state politics and is not against the BJP central leadership appointing him as an all-India general secretary based in Delhi.
BJP's general secretary in charge of Gujarat Arun Jaitley has not been able to settle the issue despite several rounds of talks with Modi and Keshubhai Patel.
BJP leaders are desperately trying to hush up the details fearing that the Congress would exploit the ugly internal spat.
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