Vallabhbhai imagined, too, that the Raj’s prisons would be unable to hold Gandhi for long. Patel emerged from the shock and loneliness following Gandhi’s arrest with a resolve to take charge of Gujarat. His response was to get up, step across to the untouchables’ block, and sit there. His wife, Bhaktilakshmi, or Bhaktiba, whose father had been the Dewan of the Kathiawad State of Limbdi, accompanied Gopaldas into the untouchables’ block. With this conference, Vallabhbhai ceases being merely the leader of the Patidars and becomes the leader of all of Gujarat.