Ahmedabad:
What has brought the political archrivals, Ex-BJP leader Suresh Mehta and Congress stalwart Shankersinh Vaghela, together after almost 15 years?
They claim it's for the people.
"We will take up issues of the common people," said Vaghela.
But insiders say it's their common hatred for Narendra Modi and an attempt to resurrect themselves from political wilderness.
Though Suresh Mehta might have lost some significance in the political spectrum of the state of late, but he wields a clout in the Kutch and Saurashtra regions of the state. As for Shankersinh Vaghela, many believe that if there's some politician in the state who can take Modi head-on, it's him.
"Look at Ramayan and Mahabharat, politics decides who will stay in and who will be thrown out," said Mehta.
The war is evident in their political history.
In 1995, Mehta was Chief Minister of Gujarat when Vaghela's rebelled and launched Rashtriya Janata Party, which came to power.
In 1996, Vaghela became the Chief Minister.
About the same time, Vaghela was threatened by Narendra Modi's growing clout, and orchestrated his ouster from Gujarat politics.
The next year, Modi got back. He split Vaghela's party. Vaghela was CM no more. In desperation, he joined the Congress.
In 2001, when Modi became the Chief Minister, he sidelined most veterans, including Mehta, who after enduring the humiliation for six years, quit in 2007, just before the Assembly elections.
And now, Mehta and Vaghela are friends.
Their common aim - to stop Modi from winning the Assembly elections for the third time in 2012.