BJP to pick Gujarat CM before August 15

Gujarat will get a new chief minister by the end of this week, after the BJP accepted the resignation of Anandiben Patel on Wednesday. The BJP wants the new chief minister to hoist the national flag on Independence Day in Gujarat.

The decision on the next chief minister will be taken after party leaders hold consultations with the state’s MLAs. BJP president Amit Shah will travel to Gujarat on Thursday where he will hold consultations with party leaders and attend the legislature party meeting, likely to be held on Friday to elect the new leader.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari and party general secretary Saroj Pandey are the two central observers appointed by the BJP parliamentary board and they have already left for Gujarat.

The race is now considered to be between Cabinet minister Nitin Patel and state unit chief and Cabinet minister Vijay Rupani. Saurabh Patel, another contender, is out of the reckoning because he is related to a top industrialist.

Dismissing speculations that Mr Shah was being considered to replace Ms Patel, Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said, “Amit Shah will remain BJP president and will decide on the new CM. The party wants him to lead us in national politics.”

The BJP parliamentary board met on Wednesday at PM Narendra Modi’s residence, 7, Race Course Road, and accepted the resignation of Ms Patel. She had submitted her resignation on Monday.

The party had been looking for a replacement for Ms Patel as it felt that she was unable to contain the Patidar agitation and had also failed to send a positive signal to the dalits in the state. The home turf of Mr Modi has been in a turmoil following the agitation by the Patidar community and by dalits. Dalits, who comprise only 7.1 per cent of the state’s population, were up in arms after a group of “Gau Rakshaks” assaulted them on the alleged charge of skinning a dead cow. The BJP felt that Ms Patel was “not able” to contain the agitations and the Opposition, particularly the Aam Aadmi Party, was able to make inroads into the state. With Assembly elections expected by the end of next year, the party is in no mood to risk going with the 75-year-old Ms Patel at the helm.