GUJARAT CM RACE WIDE OPEN
SHAH MAY like to continue with close confidante Vijay Rupani but Modi may spring a surprise — possibly Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala.
The fall in number of seats notwithstanding, the BJP may like to continue with Vijay Rupani as chief minister of Gujarat. But such are the vagaries of politics that the name of Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala is also doing the rounds.
Though a final decision is yet to be taken but at one stage speculation was rife that Vala may be brought back and entrusted with the responsibility of running the state. In fact, there were unconfirmed reports that the Karnataka Governor's secretariat in Bangaluru has been asked to clear all pending files.
This report emanated while Vala was in Rajkot to cast his vote in the recently concluded elections but no confirmation was available.
Vala, it is common knowledge in Gujarat, enjoys the trust of Prime Minister Modi from his chief ministerial days. In fact, it was Vala who had vacated his Rajkot seat for Modi to get elected to the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha after he was appointed chief minister in 2001.
Though Modi was keen to contest from Ellisbridge in Ahmedabad but the late Haren Pandya refused to vacate his seat and Vala offered his own to enable Modi to get elected within the mandatory six months after being sworn in.
Modi never forgot the gesture and Vala continued to enjoy all the fruits of power. Doing duty as Speaker of the Gujarat Vidhan Sabha, Vala was elevated to the Karnataka Raj Bhavan after Modi became the prime Minister in 2014.
Saurabh Patel was also at one time a favourite of Modi and considered future chief minister material but fell by the wayside over a period of time; he even failed to make it to the cabinet after Rupani took over in Gujarat.
Patel barely managed to scrape through in the Assembly election by less than a thousand votes from Botad this time. In fact, as against his 906 vote margin of victory, the NOTA votes were more -- 1286.
Shankar Chaudhary, a cabinet minister and another fancied claimant, ended up licking the dust, effectively snuffing out any ambitions that he may have nurtured.
Rupani is expected to continue because he enjoys the blessings of Shah; in fact, the party chief is considered as the backseat driver of the state.
Though hoisted back in office, BJP has just about managed to scrape through, its seats falling to an all-time low of 99 with a contrasting resurgence in the Congress which has taken its tally to an all-time high after its record 149 out of the total 182 in 1985. Seven ministers of the Vijay Rupani government fell by the wayside in this election and so did 27 of its legislators. This is exactly not a record that any chief minister would be comfortable with. Introspection apart, the BJP will have to take serious stock of the situation because with a resurgent Congress post-poll and Rahul, having tasted a modicum of success from his concentrated campaigning in Gujarat during the elections, will keenly focus on the state to target the Prime Minister. Congress sources said that Gandhi, who was elevated to head the Congress during his Gujarat campaign, will be visiting Gujarat for a day to thank party workers for their fruitful toil as well as to participate in a three day review of the Gujarat election results to be held in Ahmedabad from December 20 to 22.