Newsmaker: Nitin Patel

Up, up and, then, second. For now

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had summoned Nitin Patel to Delhi a couple of months earlier. The buzz was that Modi was sounding him out for eventual promotion as chief minister of Gujarat, as then incumbent Anandiben Patel had turned 75 and was expected to quit. However, what Nitin Patel got, according to sources, wasn't a pat on the back but a tongue lashing.

Nitin was number two in the Anandiben Cabinet, as he had been in Modi's when the latter was CM of the state. A five-time legislator who started his political career by heading the municipality of home district Mehsana in 1990, Nitin Patel had been a minister since 1995. The PM hauled up Nitin Patel for not pulling his weight in helping Anandiben to meet the multitude of crises the state had faced since she succeeded Modi when he moved to Delhi in May 2014 after 12-odd years as Gujarat's CM.

When the time came to select Anandiben's successor, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) central leadership chose the quiet state unit chief, Vijay Rupani. The non-controversial Rupani, known to be a man of few words, is from the Jain-Baniya community, barely three per cent of Gujarat's population.

Nitin Patel, on the other hand, hails from the influential Patidar community. To top it, he belongs to the Kadva Patels, as does young Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who has led an aggressive campaign to demand reservation for his community in government jobs. Nitin Patel lost to Rupani because of his 'non-cooperation' to Anandiben. Even so, his claim as the most senior of the ministers, and from the politically vital Patidar community, make him an important leader if the BJP hopes to win the assembly elections due in Gujarat in December 2017.

Therefore, Nitin Ratilal Patel, 60, was sworn in as the Deputy CM and given the important finance ministry. And, given his experience in administration and Rupani's more understated style, he's likely to wield real power.

From now to the election campaign nearly a year away, Nitin Patel's job would be to win over his community. During last year's Patidar agitation, Nitin's home and office were attacked. He was chief negotiator from the government's side to Patidar leaders. Nitin Patel, unlike Anandiben, is known to be a consensus builder and a victory of the BJP in the polls might well pave his way to the chief ministerial chair.

Nitin hails from Kadi in Mehsana district and studied up to second year for a Bachelor of Commerce degree. He has a family business of edible oil and cotton ginning.

On Wednesday, the BJP appointed 46-year-old Jitu Vaghani, a legislator from Bhavnagar West, as state party chief. While Nitin Patel is from the Kadva Patel sub-caste, Vaghani is a Leuva Patel. Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah would hope the two Patels would deliver them Gujarat in December 2017.