Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani’s resignation validates a scoop by a news portal at the height of the first wave of Covid, on his impending exit. Yet, the state government shockingly sought to silence the Gujarati portal’s editor by hauling him up for sedition. A year later, Rupani suddenly put in his papers. With Assembly polls a little over a year away, the BJP played it safe, choosing first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel, a member of the influential Patidar community, as his successor.
In August, Rupani completed five years in office, having taken over as chief minister from Anandiben Patel, who had to leave under similar circumstances because of mishandling the Patidar unrest. Five years is a long time in politics, more so as CM, to prove ability to retain power in a state that has been in the BJP’s pocket for decades. Rupani apparently didn’t inspire confidence, overwhelmed as his administration was by the Covid outbreak. A series of adverse orders of the Gujarat High Court on pandemic handling further hobbled his leadership. And his attempts at perception management were pathetic. Political survival after the colossal loss of lives with hospitals starved of oxygen, despite being an industrially advanced state where the life-saving gas is manufactured, is extremely difficult unless the leadership has the ability to fight it out and script a spectacular turnaround. Rupani was seen as a softie with little stomach for a robust fightback. With his departure, the state BJP hopes to shake off anti-incumbency and begin afresh. He is the fourth CM the BJP changed in as many states for different reasons. Rupani’s resignation also comes at a time when the opposition Congress is in disarray. The AAP is trying to eat into the grand old party’s base, making an impressive mark in the local body elections held earlier this year.
Being chief minister of a state once led by Narendra Modi is not easy as he set a high benchmark for leadership. Yet, Bhupendra Patel has to safeguard the Modi legacy while hitting the road running. He has to change the floundering administration’s image to that of a doer. A word of regret instead of brazening it out for harassing the journalist who was doing his job could set the tone for the reset