Who's after Modi in Gujarat? BJP's Bhikhubhai Dalsania enters CM race; Anandiben Patel still frontrunner

GANDHINAGAR: Even as BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi gets ready to play a bigger role in Indian politics, what's debated with lot of interest is ‘Who after Modi in Gujarat?' While it's been believed for long that Modi's long-time confidant Anandiben Patel will get the job, the possibility of a wild card entry too is now being speculated upon.

Gujarat BJP's organizational secretary Bhikhubhai Dalsania may emerge as the dark horse in the final reckoning, say people familiar with the development. And like Modi, this RSS pracharak too has not contested any election so far and is a lateral entry to the BJP from the Sangh.

When contacted, Dalsania however told ET that no decision has been taken. “These are mere media speculation,” he added. What makes Dalsania's name interesting is that it fits the narrative of RSS' growing influence over BJP, and such a decision may be taken primarily to humour Nagpur, the headquarters of the RSS, said a person in Gujarat BJP, who requested anonymity.

This can also be some kind of a saffron experiment, before similar steps are taken across the national spectrum. “Obviously this will spark off ambition among the pracharaks who can start dreaming of holding high constitutional positions without going through the rigour of electoral process,” the source said.

The low-profile RSS pracharak from Jamnagar had joined the BJP in the mid nineties and rose through the ranks, from district level to take on state responsibility in the middle of the last decade.

While he has overseen two assembly and three LS elections since then, it is his “unimaginative” and “almost silent” style of functioning that makes him a CM candidate, said a source. “Also he is a Patel from Saurashtra and appointing him would quell the unease brewing within the powerful community for some time apart from humouring the RSS,” the source added.



“While Modi won election after election, he collected his credits. But one will not credit him with stellar contribution to the party's growth like what one would otherwise give to Sanjay Joshi or Suresh Soni,” he added. While Anandi Patel is certainly the strongest contender, the other heavyweights like Amit Shah and Parshottam Rupala are certainly not out of the reckoning just yet.