- In Gujarat, BJP chose Bhupendra Patel, the first-time MLA from Ghatlodia constituency, for the post of chief minister after the resignation of Vijay Rupani.
- The Patidar community, which is divided into two subcastes – Leuva Patel and Kadva Patel, is numerically the most dominant in the state.
- Bhupendra Patel was chosen over Nitin Patel probably because the latter is seen as the person of the establishment and the Patidar community does not see him as one of their own.
- As BJP has fulfilled the demand of a Patidar CM, the community would swing to the saffron party which it has supported since Modi became CM of the state.
In Gujarat, BJP chose Bhupendra Patel, the first-time MLA from Ghatlodia constituency, for the post of chief minister after the resignation of Vijay Rupani. After the resignation of Rupani, the media houses speculated a lot with many coming with as many as 8-9 probable candidates for the post of the chief minister – none of which came to be true.
The strongest candidate, who was at the top of the list of almost every media house, was Nitin Patel, deputy chief minister of the state and an influential Kadva Patidar leader.
The Patidar community, which is divided into two subcastes – Leuva Patel and Kadva Patel, is numerically the most dominant in the state. Kadva Patel community constitutes 30 per cent of the total Patidar popular while the rest 70 per cent are Leuva Patel.
The Patidar reservation protest, which is going on for the last few years, was primarily led by the Kadva Patidar community, which has no person on the Chief Minister chair; four people from the Patidar community who occupied the CM chair were all from the Leuva Patidar community.
Thus, the protest was primarily driven by the Kadva Patidar community which wants its share in the power corridors of Gandhinagar. Hardik Patel, the young leader who led the protest, is also from the same community.
Thus BJP appointed the first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel, who is from the Kadva community to the post of CM. Nitin Patel, the strongest candidate with a long CV who could not make it, also belongs to the Kadva Patel community.
Bhupendra Patel was chosen over Nitin Patel probably because the latter is seen as the person of the establishment and the Patidar community does not see him as one of their own. To pacify the rising anger among the Kadva Patel community, it was necessary to install a new leader who is not seen as a person of the establishment and this is where Bhupendra Patel scored.
Also, the appointment of any senior leader like Nitin Patel would have disturbed other senior leaders in the party. There is rampant factionalism among the established leaders of the party as it has been the power in the state for more than 20 years, and the high command wanted to get rid of the factions before the assembly election. Thus, a new face was inducted so the parties do not work against each other during the election.
The move will counter Hardik Patel, working president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee and belongs to Kadva community, who is a prospective CM candidate from the Congress party.
With the appointment of a Patidar CM, BJP has ended the chances of AAP’s success in the state. In the last few years, AAP has been making rapid gains in Gujarat at the expense of the Congress party. During the last municipal election, AAP won many seats including in Surat Municipal corporations and became the primary opposition party in many cities and districts.
The rapid gains of AAP were due to the support from the Patidar community, a section of which became disillusioned with Congress and Hardik Patel in the last few years and was looking for an alternative. As BJP has fulfilled the demand of a Patidar CM, the community would swing to the saffron party which it has supported since Modi became CM of the state.