What led to BJP naming Vijay Rupani as Gujarat CM

A Jain Baniya from Rajkot, the 61-year-old was chosen at the last minute by BJP to come across as a 'balanced' party by fielding a non-Patidar

Moments before the meeting of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah led meeting of party MLAs and senior leaders to choose the next chief minister (CM) of Gujarat, celebrations had begun in Kadi, the constituency of incumbent Health Minister Nitin Patel.

What now in the hindsight looks like jumping the gun too soon, Patel even shared the steps he will take if selected as the CM to some television channels. The otherwise apparent result of the meeting turned out to be a last minute surprise that BJP sprung up in naming its Gujarat BJP President Vijay Rupani as the chief minister. Ironically, Rupani had withdrawn his candidature earlier from the race for the post of CM.

While details of the meeting that took place closed doors at the party's state headquarters Shri Kamalam in Gandhinagar were unknown, sources say the atmosphere was tense for sometime. As against the scheduled start at 4 pm, the meeting eventually began over an hour late with Anandiben Patel reportedly rooting for Nitin Patel while Amit Shah favouring Rupani. Sources say a phone call to one of the party leaders in the middle of the meeting, supposedly from the PMO, was instrumental in a mid way being carved; that of naming Rupani as CM and Nitin Patel as deputy CM.

Apart from Shah, Union Road Minister Nitin Gadkari, Anandiben, Nitin Patel, Rupani and BJP joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish were present in the meeting, along with other senior party leaders.

For someone whose constituency had begun early celebrations, Nitin Patel looked visibly upset and was one of the first to leave the meeting soon after the announcement. Party leaders later met him at his residence, supposedly to placate him, it has been learnt.

With the Patidar protests having taken place in Kadi and other parts of northern Gujarat, the community has been divided over accepting Nitin Patel as someone who can represent their concerns in the government, though Patel has been leading the talks between the state and the agitating community. On the other hand, Hardik Patel, the convenor of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), on Friday tweeted that Patidars equally didn't welcome Rupani, considered an Amit Shah loyalist, as the CM, adding that the agitation would, hence, continue.

A Jain Baniya from Rajkot, the 61-year-old Rupani was chosen at the last minute by BJP to come across as a 'balanced' party by fielding a non-Patidar, non-Dalit CM at a time when the two communities are warring against the government.

It is believed that even as the CM designate, who met Gujarat Governor O P Kohli on Saturday to stake claim to form the new government, prepares for the swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, the new cabinet could see representation from these communities to placate both.

On Saturday, BJP state in-charge Dinesh Sharma announced that Rupani will take oath on Sunday at 12.40 pm at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar. "We have told the Governor that the BJP Legislature has endorsed the names of Vijay Rupani as new Chief Minister and Nitin Patel as Deputy Chief Minister," Sharma said after the meeting.