Vijay Rupani quits as Gujarat chief minister

Vijay Rupani unexpectedly tendered his resignation as Gujarat chief minister on Saturday, a year before the next assembly election. The move carried echoes of his predecessor Anandiben Patel’s departure — she also quit ahead of the state polls.To be sure, there had been speculation for some time in state political circles over Rupani’s likely removal by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) high command, especially after criticism over his management of the pandemic. The opposition Congress described the move as a futile exercise in damage control by the ruling party.Rupani completed five years as chief minister on August 7, after having replaced Patel, who had to resign in the wake of Patidar movement on August 3, 2016. After she announced her resignation on a social media platform, Nitin Patel had been projected as her successor. Instead, Rupani was made CM.BJP MLAs have been summoned to Gandhinagar for a meeting that’s expected to take place on Sunday in the presence of observers from Delhi, including Union home minister Amit Shah. It’s widely expected that a senior Patidar leader with administrative experience may be anointed as the next chief minister.Unlike Patel, who announced her resignation on social media, Rupani was accompanied by senior leaders when he submitted his resignation to Governor Acharya Devabrat. Rupani then addressed the media, pledging he would continue to work for the party. Rupani was accompanied by Union minister and BJP Gujarat observer Bhupendra Yadav and Union ministers Parshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya. Anti-incumbency Sentiment Deputy CM Nitin Patel, state education minister Bhupendrasinh Chudasma and minister of state for home Pradipsinh Jadeja also accompanied Rupani during his visit to the governor. Interestingly, prior to the resignation, Rupani had attended an event at which PM Narendra Modi virtually dedicated the Sardar Bhavan in Ahmedabad. The resignation sparked renewed criticism of Rupani’s performance as CM. The Congress mounted an attack on the ruling party, with leader of the opposition Paresh Dhanani recounting pandemic deaths, particularly during the second wave, and the inability to deal with farmers’ woes. The handling of the second wave and the state government’s alleged attempts to cover up Covid-19 deaths had attracted strong observations by the Gujarat HC. The pandemic and accompanying economic stress have already generated considerable anger across rural Gujarat, threatening to strengthen anti-incumbency sentiment against the BJP government in the home state of the PM.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/3nolRU8