AHMEDABAD: Jagdish Vishwakarma is all set to be elected unopposed as Gujarat BJP president, strengthening Ahmedabad’s grip on both the government and the party.
His elevation, strategically timed ahead of local body polls, signals not only a caste-calibrated move to balance Patidar and OBC power but also sets the stage for a looming cabinet expansion under Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The suspense over Gujarat BJP’s leadership has ended with a decisive twist. Jagdish Vishwakarma, MLA from Nikol in Ahmedabad city, is set to be announced as the party’s new state president. The announcement, overseen by Union Minister Bhupender Yadav, marks the culmination of a process that began on October 2 and concluded Friday, with Vishwakarma emerging as the sole candidate backed unanimously by 292 state council members.
His elevation is no ordinary development. For the first time in years, both the government and the party organisation are controlled by leaders from the same city: Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel from Ghatlodia in West Ahmedabad, and Vishwakarma from Nikol in East Ahmedabad. This rare concentration of power cements Ahmedabad’s dominance over Gujarat’s twin power centres — Gandhinagar’s corridors of governance and the BJP’s political machinery.
The timing is crucial. With municipal and panchayat elections slated for next year, the BJP has deliberately handed the reins to an OBC leader, balancing caste equations in a state where Patel represents the Patidar stronghold. Vishwakarma’s rise is being read as a direct counter to Congress, which recently appointed OBC leader Amit Chavda as its state president, signaling a head-on battle for backward class votes.
But the story doesn’t end with his election. Speculation is rife that Vishwakarma’s tenure as president could be short-lived, as he is tipped to join the cabinet in the imminent reshuffle. If inducted, he would have to step down from the organisational post, triggering yet another leadership adjustment inside the BJP.
Party strategists, however, insist that the Patel-Vishwakarma duo represents the perfect mix of Patidar strength and OBC outreach — a social engineering model that will define the BJP’s grassroots strategy leading into the 2027 Assembly polls.
For now, the leadership question may be settled, but the spotlight shifts immediately to Gandhinagar, where the much-awaited cabinet expansion is expected to redraw Gujarat’s political map in the coming weeks.