Amit Shah meets Gujarat MLAs, new CM to be announced on Friday

Speculations of Nitin Patel's name as successor to Anandiben Patel cropped up after state BJP president Vijay Rupani withdrew himself from the race

While a marathon meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah with state party leaders and legislative members on Thursday resulted in speculations of Nitin Patel as a front runner, name of the new Gujarat chief minister will be announced on Friday.

Speculations of Nitin Patel's name as successor to Anandiben Patel, who resigned on Wednesday, cropped up after state BJP president Vijay Rupani withdrew himself from the race. Earlier, union minister Venkaiah Naidu ruled out Shah's name as a Gujarat CM probable.

However, Thursday also saw a major setback to the BJP-led Gujarat government with the Gujarat High Court (HC) quashing the government's decision to offer 10 per cent additional quota for economically backward classes (EBC) in government jobs and educational institutions. Add to that, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) president Mayawati on Thursday demanded steps against perpetrators in the Una Dalit youth thrashing case during her visit in Gujarat.

Mayawati visited the Dalit victims hospitalised in Ahmedabad and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh to the victims. Questioning the prime minister Narendra Modi's slogan, 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas', she demanded government land for Dalits in Gujarat.

Meanwhile, the BJP is likely to announce name of the new Gujarat chief minister on Friday in the presence of union minister Nitin Gadkari and other senior party leaders including Saroj Pandey.