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Castigated: Vijay Rupani With Amit Shah (File Photo)
Castigated: Vijay Rupani With Amit Shah (File Photo)
Castigated: Vijay Rupani With Amit Shah (File Photo)
Authoritative sources in the BJP told me that the prime reason for the
removal of Rupani, 65, was the Prime Minister's anger at his
mishandling of the second vicious wave of the pandemic. Rupani, a
protege of Amit Shah, was catapulted to the top job in 2016; his serial
Covid missteps in the PM's home state reportedly had the PM seriously
upset.
The background to the Rupani exit is also the fact that he seemed to be
unable to come to grips with handling the Gujarat administration even
after five years in office. Senior officials and MLAs compared him
unfavourably to the PM, who, as the state's three-time Chief Minister,
had an iron grip on the administration; even his successor, Anandiben
Patel, who is currently the Governor of Uttar Pradesh was seen as more
in control.
Significantly, Modi with this hard reset in Gujarat seems to have firmly
taken back the political and electoral reins in Gujarat. The PM may
spring a total political surprise as the new Gujarat Chief Minister as he
likes to keep opponents and the media guessing.
Vijay Rupani and PM Modi (File photo)
In 2017, the BJP formed the government in Gujarat for the sixth straight
time with 99 seats. The Congress gave it a scare as they won 77
seats.That election had been billed as a thanksgiving for Modi by Shah
but Modi's own appraisal of the state saw him increasing his campaign
visits to his home state, where he made emotional appeals to voters.
Since then, as is so often the case with the Congress, it has lost the
momentum it had gained and is now in complete disarray in Gujarat.