The appointment of the Chief Minister of the state the Prime minister hails from had to come with a bang. But the appointment of Gujarat CM was more dramatic than anybody could expect.
BJP, through a meeting attended by top notch leaders, including Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari, on Friday, named Mr. Vijay Rupani as the sixteenth CM of Gujarat, after the previous CM of the state, Anandibai Patel resigned before her term ended. Her resignation was announced through her Facebook handle where she declared that ‘it was time for the younger generation to take over’.
Gujarat has been the center of attention for a while, apart from being the homeland of Narendra Modi, it has also been in the news because of the Patidar Quota Agitation and Dalit unrest going on in the state.
The front runner of the race was Nitin Patel, the senior-most minister in the cabinet, who has now been appointed as his deputy. Patel had gone so far as to give many interviews announcing his plans to handle the problems of the state. In a situation like this, Rupani’s appointment came as a surprise.
Congress has congratulated Rupani on his appointment and appreciated his courage to steer a ‘sinking ship’.
It has been stated that Anandibai thought Patel to be the appropriate successor, and Shah backed Rupani. She is said to have brought forward the point that Rupani is just a first time MLA and that he has no experience of administration. After a long line of arguments, it was concluded that since Patel was not in friendly terms with the Patidars, Rupani should be the new CM, especially in the light of the approaching Gujarat 2017 elections. Modi is said to have himself talked to Anandibai in this regard to convince her.
Vijay Rupani is a sixty-year-old, first-time MLA. He is considered as a leader who keeps a low profile. Rupani has been a dedicated RSS member for a long time and is said to have close relations with Amit Shah. Rupani was born in Myanmar in 1956 and has been a member of RSS since his schooldays in Rajkot. He went ahead to pursue LL.B after completing his B.A. He got involved in politics after joining ABVP in his college days. He was a member of Rajya Sabha starting from 2006 to 2012. During the tenure of Anandibai, he served as the Transport Minister.
Rupani, after his appointment, Rupani thanked the party for the responsibility and declared that he shall strive to make Gujarat the role model for all the states. He upheld the slogan of ‘Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas’ and vowed to strive for the development of the state. Time will tell what future has in store for Gujarat.
