Anandiben Patel resigns: After Dalit, Patidaar agitations, it was time for her to go

The stepping down of Anandiben Patel was always on the cards. The question was when. BJP President Amit Shah was always keen that the forthcoming elections could not be fought under the leadership of Patel. Age has been a factor and in a post Narendra Modi regime, living up to expectations was getting difficult for the aging Patel who was expected to be eased out in November on her 75th birthday.

When Patel took over as chief minister from Modi in May 2014, it did not come as a surprise to many. For one, Patel was the seniormost cabinet minister in the BJP government. She had handled portfolios like education and revenue and was also known to be close to Modi. So being appointed as the next chief minister was expected, even though the names of many other senior ministers in the Modi cabinet did the rounds.

Patel was also known for her proximity with the RSS and all BJP rebels like former CM Keshubhai Patel and the likes of RSS strongman Sanjay Joshi. She had ensured that people such as former home minister Goardhan Zadaphiya,  who had resigned during the Modi tenure and floated their own outfit, returned to the party fold. But the rising discontent amongst several communities was making things increasingly difficult for Patel. The Patidaar agitation and now the Dalit agitation were adding to the problems of the BJP and Modi, a negative factor considering the many Assembly elections coming up in 2017.

The powerful Patel agitation could be restricted to the state, but the Dalit agitation had a national outcome and was affecting the BJP’s prospects in Uttar Pradesh. In Gujarat, Dalits may form a meagre seven percent of the population, but nationally the Dalits matter – even more when the agitation is in the Prime Minister’s home state. The visit of several national leaders and the debate in the Parliament was getting difficult for the BJP to handle at both the state level and the national level.

Things were also getting worse for Anandiben with land scams involving her daughter Anaar Patel and her son Sanjay Patel. They have been calling the shots during the Anandi regime and many bureaucrats expressed helplessness when decisions had to be taken to appease the Patels.

Meanwhile, Amit Shah was always playing games from outside the state. Though Patel was the chief minister, it was Shah who was taking key decisions. So when Vijay Rupani was made the state party president, it was a clear indication as to who is the boss. Rupani is known to be a close associate of Shah. Shah also ensured that people who were close to him — such as DGP PP Pandey — held key positions and made key decisions.

Shah had also ensured that he was consulted before the tickets for local elections were distributed. And the recipients of the tickets were mainly people who were known to be close to Shah.

Now that BJP has accepted Patel’s resignation, party circles are abuzz with the idea that Rupani will be the next chief minister. But the final decision will be in Modi’s hands as he is the one who has to ensure that the BJP’s prospects are not affected in his home state.