The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has returned to power for the eighth consecutive term in Gujarat, the home state of its prime leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ‘Chanakya’ Amit Shah after the well-chalked-out plan won 156 out of 182 seats in the state, the real challenge for the saffron party begins now- the formulation of a new cabinet and deciding who makes it to the ministry and who not.
Gujarat elections unlike any other state, is a balanced amalgamation of development, infrastructure, business and caste-based politics, thus, the representation of the newly elected government needs those reflections and that’s what the real struggle is, but will the dynamic Modi-Shah duo with the assistance of Bhupendra Patel be able to make everyone happy? Only time will tell.
However, the issue of the hour is who after a months-long rigorous election campaign in the BJP-RSS bastion, is likely to make it to the new Bhupendra Patel 2.0 cabinet and why? Here are BJP’s prime options:
Harsh Sanghavi
Often credited as the rising star in Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi is a popular leader of the BJP in Gujarat. He has held some significant portfolios such as of home as MoS and Revenue Minister when cabinet minister Rajendra Trivedi was stripped of it.
However, Sanghvi has also been at the centre of controversies with his handling of rising cases of harassment of members of Scheduled Castes in the state. All in all, Sanghvi fits the bill of what can be termed a full-fledged Indian politician and is likely to return to the cabinet with an important profile.
Rushikesh Patel
Rushikesh Patel has a high chance of getting another go for his fine handling of the Covid-19 pandemic in the state. He held the important health portfolio in the Bhupendra Patel 1.0 government and also offered the BJP some caste mileage by being a Patidar.
In these elections, He has defeated Congress’s Kirit Patel from the Visnagar constituency.
Alpesh Thakor
Alpesh Thakor rose to popularity after he opposed the Patidar quota demonstration by Hardik Patel and made a speech against caste-quota politics. He is a youth leader from the OBC community and thus, holds great caste-based effect as well
Thakor’s political skills were on display during the 2022 elections in which he won from Gandhinagar South constituency, despite it not being a familiar terrain. Alpesh is likely to get a junior minister charge.
Shankar Chaudhary
Shankar Chaudhary, who is likely to make it to the new Gujarat cabinet, is the chairman of Banas Dairy and former minister in the Anandiben Patel government. From the powerful Chaudhary community of the OBCs, Chaudhary had helped set up a milk-producing plant of the Banas Dairy, one of the richest dairies, at PM’s constituency of Varanasi.
His importance in the party could be comprehended from Union Minister Amit Shah’s comments for him, “You give your votes to Shankarbhai and make him an MLA; this party will do the work of making him an important person,” Shah said at a rally.
Jayesh Radadiya
Radadiya, who won his fourth election from the Jetpur seat, is likely to find a place in the new Gujarat government. Jayesh and his father Vitthal Radadiya defected to the BJP in 2013 and found a slot in the governments of Narendra Modi Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupai before being dropped in September 2021. He is also chairman of Rajkot District Cooperative Bank and holds sway over cooperative bodies.
