With the elevation of Gujarat BJP chief and Navsari MP C R Patil to the Union Cabinet, there is intense speculation about who will be his successor in the state. Patil has been given the water resources portfolio in the Union Cabinet.
Sources in the ruling party said the Gujarat unit of the BJP will get a new president in two or three days. Patil’s term as state president ended a few months ago but he was asked to continue till the end of the Lok Sabha polls.
Patil won the recent Lok Sabha election from Navsari by a huge margin of 7.74 lakh votes, the highest victory margin in Gujarat in this election.
Caste equation
As per the caste equation, rumours are that the BJP will opt for an OBC, a Kshatriya or a tribal leader to replace Patil. There are also rumours that a minister dropped from the previous Modi government could be the new Gujarat BJP chief.
There are others who say that the next state party president will be from the SC, ST or OBC communities. The party could also opt for a woman.
However, one thing is certain that PM Narendra Modi thinks out of the box and the new party president will be of his choice, say sources.
An OBC leader may be appointed as BJP seems to be losing traction among that segment. Congress party’s Geniben Thakor, hailing from the influential Thakor community of the OBCs, defeated her BJP rival Rekhaben Chaudhary, to become the first Congress Lok Sabha MP from the state since 2009.
Names of probables
Among the names of probables are that of OBC leader Jagdish Vishwakarma, a junior minister with independent charge in the Bhupendra Patel government. Purnesh Modi, a three-time MLA and a prominent OBC face in Gujarat, is also reportedly in the reckoning. Purnesh Modi’s defamation lawsuit led to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction by a Gujarat court.
Devusinh Chauhan, a sitting MP from Kheda who served as a junior communications minister in the previous Narendra Modi government but was not included in the latest cabinet, is also being considered for the post of Gujarat BJP president, party leaders said.
Patil succeeded Jitu Vaghani as president of the Gujarat BJP. Under his leadership, the saffron party had impressive wins in local body polls, the 2022 assembly elections where the BJP registered an overwhelming win, Rajya Sabha elections and the general elections this year, where BJP won 25 of the state’s 26 Lok Sabha seats.
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