The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday accepted the resignation of Anandiben Patel as the Chief Minister of Gujarat and said the legislature party meeting will be held on Thursday to decide next chief minister of the state.
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“The BJP’s parliamentary board has chose to accept the resignation of Anandiben Patel as Gujarat Chief Minister”, Naidu later said, adding that she will go to Raj Bhavan today and submit her resignation to Governor OP Kohli.
Commenting on the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has said she has been made the “scapegoat” for the prolonged BJP misrule in the state.
Among Anandiben’s probable successors are the BJP General Secretary in Gujarat Bhikhubhai Dalsania, a Patel leader from Jamnagar drafted into the BJP from the RSS, and senior ministers Nitin Patel and Vijay Rupani, the State BJP chief.
The only BJP leader who has so far resigned from a post because of the age limit is Najma Heptulla. “If I am relieved now, the new Chief Minister will have time to prepare for these two important events”. The BJP also antagonised its loyal vote bank of Patidars who have been demanding OBC quota and staged violent protests past year.
For several months, there have speculations on the possible removal of Patel but her unseating proved to be the unrest in Gujarat that started with the Patidar agitation past year.
The veteran political leader-who incidentally turns 60 today-is reportedly the only member in the state cabinet to have been jailed during the Emergency.
Her government was criticised for its handling of the outrage created by the public flogging of four Dalit men by self-styled cow protection groups.
According to BJP insiders in Gujarat, Mr. Shah was scheduled to visit the State for three days from August 4 to 6.
In what maybe seen as a first the CM of Gujarat, Anandiben Patel has taken to Facebook to state that she would like to quit.
He refused to give any names of contenders for the post and only said, “A party worker will be chosen as the next chief minister”.
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Lauding her mentor and the Prime Minister, Anandiben said she was fortunate as she was constantly nurtured by the BJP while working under the visionary leadership of Narendra Modi.
