The name of new Gujarat chief minister will be announced today as Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs will meet party president Amit Shah in Gandhinagar. Earlier, BJP’s Parliamentary Board accepted Anandiben Patel’s offer to resign paving the way for appointment of a new chief minister to lead the party ahead of the 2017 Assembly polls. A meeting of party MLAs and office-bearers will be held at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar where the next CM would be announced, said state BJP president Vijay Rupani, who is also the state transport minister. “Apart from Amit Shah, all the party MLAs, office bearers and our observers Nitin Gadkari and Saroj Pandey will remain present at the meeting,” said Vijay Rupani, after holding a long discussion with Shah at latter’s residence.
Amit Shah, who arrived on Thursday morning, has been busy holding meetings with state BJP leaders and ministers at his residence. Among others, he met state BJP in-charge Dinesh Sharma, national joint general secretary (organisation) V Satish, party treasurer Surendra Patel, education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasama and former state BJP chief RC Faldu. Health Minister Nitin Patel, considered to be the front-runner for the job, was also present during Shah’s meeting with Rupani.
When asked by reporters whether he would accept the post of CM, Patel evaded a direct answer but said, “Whoever is chosen by the party, we all will work together.” Dinesh Sharma, who arrived on Wednesday, engaged in hectic parleys with BJP leaders and ministers. It is believed that he apprised Shah of his observations. The names that are doing the rounds for the post are ‘number two’ in the cabinet Nitin Patel, Union Minister Purshottam Rupala and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, a tribal leader. Vijay Rupani’s name also came up early on, but he indicated on Wednesday that he was not in the race as he was happy with his current job. After this, Nitin Patel has emerged as a strong contender.
