Nitin Patel frontrunner, Rupala not in race as CM for Gujarat

NEW DELHI: BJP Parliamentary Board accepted Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel’s decision to step down from the post and set in motion the process of appointing her successor by nominating Union minister Nitin Gadkari and party general secretary Saroj Pande as observers to oversee the selection.

Sources said Health Minister Nitin Patel is one of the front-runners as Anandiben Patel is strongly opposed to state unit chief Vijay Rupani as he is BJP chief Amit Shah’s choice. Moreover, though Rupani is non-controversial, being a Jain he does not represent a sizable community. Nitin Patel fits the bill as he is a Patidar, who have been a loyal votebank for the BJP till the recent quota reservation. BJP hopes to cover lost ground after Anandiben’s exit.

The meeting was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence and was chaired by BJP Chief Amit Shah. Briefing reporters later, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said the board appreciated the work done by Patel and the party has decided to honour her decision to step down on the ground that she is reaching the 75-age cutoff mark. Naidu emphasised that no names were discussed but ruled out rumours that Shah could be in contention for the post of Gujarat chief minister.

He emphasised there is no question of Shah becoming Gujarat chief minister and the central leadership feels he should continue to lead the party as he has delivered election victories for the BJP in recent months. "Shah is not being considered for the post of Chief Minister as the party needs him at the national level," Naidu said, adding, "The Chief Minister will be from Gujarat and will be an MLA."

This rules out Rajya Sabha member and Union minister Parshottam Rupala as well. He was being considered as one of the probable and this gained currency after he met Modi and Shah yesterday. Interestingly, Shah will participate in the selection process of the new chief minister of Gujarat as he is one of the BJP MLAs. The Parliamentary Board also directed Anandiben Patel to submit her resignation to Gujarat Governor O P Kohli on Wednesday itself. BJP sources said Shah will reach Ahmedabad on Thursday and the process is likely to be completed before the weekend.