Nitin Patel is the new Chief Minister of Gujarat, declared
overenthusiastic Gujarati news channels on Friday afternoon. His smiling
pictures appeared on all channels. His followers started bursting
crackers.
That’s not all! A confident Patel gave interviews to
TV channels and talked about his vision for the state. He even accepted
congratulatory messages! Party sources were telling journalists that it
was a done deal. And it all seemed logical considering caste equations and
the present condition.
But Amit Shah had a different game-plan
in his mind. He had arrived in Gandhinagar on Thursday morning and held
one-on-one meetings with all senior party leaders and MLAs. On Friday
afternoon, central observer Gadkari was to arrive for the meeting of
party MLAs. Drama started the moment he landed.
Surprise Meeting
Amit Shah asked the union minister to come to the Circuit House first. This meeting wasn’t scheduled. Minutes after Gadkari and Shah reached, surprisingly, state BJP chief Vijay Rupani arrived there. Rupani was the front-runner for the CM’s post until he withdrew his name a couple of days ago. This secret meeting lasted for just 10 minutes.
Clashes Between Shah and Anandiben
Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari and Vijay Rupani then rushed to the venue,
where party MLAs, office-bearers and central observers were waiting. A
few minutes into the meeting and it was clear that Gujarat BJP was
bitterly divided into two camps.
Amit Shah tried to push his
confidant Vijay Rupani’s name. The rival camp was led by none other than
Anandiben, who openly opposed Rupani, say sources. He lacks
administrative experience, she complained. Then followed heated arguments
between Amit Shah and Anandiben, who have been known to share uneasy
equations.
A visibly upset and aggressive Anandiben reportedly
said that Patidar protests, which partly led to her exit, were
internally engineered! She put her foot down for her second-in-command
Nitin Patel.
Shah camp alleged that Nitin Patel wasn’t quick in decision-making and lacked organisational skills. They also accused him of loose talk, which the party could not afford at this crucial stage.
Modi Gave the Compromise Formula
As the temperatures rose, chances of a consensus looked bleak.
Then, party’s organising secretary V Satish came out and reportedly
spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources indicate that PM Modi
suggested the truce formula.
So, it was decided to make Rupani the Chief Minister and Nitin Patel his deputy. Patel will be the first Deputy CM in a BJP government in Gujarat. Rupani will be the first Chief Minister of Gujarat from the minority Jain community.
Delicate Balance or Divided House?
With Anandiben gone and Rupani at the helm, critics say that Amit Shah will control the state government as well as the party unit. This arrangement not only shows deep divide in the party, but also the lack of strong leadership.
Rupani will have no time to celebrate. Hardik Patel has announced that the BJP has insulted Patidars by not making Nitin Patel the CM. Hardik Patel taking Nitin Patel’s side is not a good sign for Rupani-Shah duo.
With two centres of power in the government and two outside — Amit Shah and Anandiben, Gujarat BJP now seems to be a divided house. This is an ideal situation for the Opposition, but will they be able to exploit it? Rupani has a mammoth challenge to tackle the issues of governance while reuniting the badly divided party unit.
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