Gujarat’s first woman Chief Minister Anandiben Patel on Wednesday submitted her resignation to Governor O P Kohli.
In a short official meeting, Anandiben handed over her resignation letter to the governor who asked her to continue as the caretaker chief minister till her successor takes over the reins of the state.
Anandiben arrived at the Raj Bhavan at about 5 pm accompanied by senior members of the BJP and her Cabinet ministers, including state party president Vijay Rupani, BJP’s Gujarat affairs incharge Dinesh Sharma and Nitin Patel, who is touted to be among the leaders in the race for the chief minister’s post.
Anandiben was sworn in as the chief minister on May 23, 2014, after her predecessor Narendra Modi became the prime minister.
Hard time
During the two years of her rule, she faced tremendous headwinds from within the party as well as the wrath of her own Patel community which took to the streets seeking reservation. The latest incident of flogging of Dalits also added to her woes.
A Modi loyalist, Anandiben had the complete backing of her boss. However, in a surprise move, she proposed to step down on Monday in a letter to the party’s national president Amit Shah. She made her wish public through a social media post and a video statement later in the day, which was accepted by the party top brass on Wednesday morning in Delhi.
DH News Service
Decision on new CM likely by Saturday
The ruling BJP is likely to take a final decision on the new chief minister of Gujarat on Friday or Saturday, DHNS reports from Gandhinagar.
“The announcement of a new chief minister could come after 3 pm on Friday or Saturday, depending on the completion of the process to elect a successor,” Gujarat BJP incharge Dinesh Sharma told mediapersons outside the Raj Bhavan. Sharma said Anandiben’s successor would be decided at the BJP Legislature Party meeting after party national president Amit Shah flies down to Ahmedabad on Thursday.
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