PM candidate unlikely to quit CM post soon

BJP’s prime ministerial candidate is not likely to resign from his Chief Ministerial position, at least not now.

Well placed sources within the power structure of Gujarat polity confirmed that the idea of Modi resigning from his current position for taking up his new assignment at Delhi has been shot down by Modi himself, who would rather continue being the Chief Minister of Gujarat as long as the Constitution permits.

Modi’s strength and confidence in this matter stems from the absolute loyalty and devotion he commands from the state BJP unit in Gujarat, which looks almost incapable of conceiving an idea to upstage him while he is electioneering at the national level, said a source.  “His trusted lieutenants would gladly carry on handling the day to day affairs of Gujarat until the big day, when it comes,” the source added.

In case the BJP fails to achieve its target in 2014, Modi will continue as the Chief Minister of Gujarat uninterrupted, maintained the source.

However, the names of some of the senior members of the cabinet have been making the rounds as the possible next Chief Minister of the state, while the entire issue still remains confined within the realm of speculation as there has been no concrete signal from Modi himself, who in spite of all pressures, has refrained from appointing a deputy chief minister as of date.

While it is widely speculated that the revenue minister of the state, Anandi Patel, could well be nominated as the successor of Narendra Modi as the septuagenarian leader has been de facto running the state government while Modi has been busy with national politics off late, Modi has also been grooming Finance Minister Nitin Patel and Industry Minister Saurabh Dalal for quite some time, and either of them could emerge as the dark horse, maintain some observers. However, both Nitin and Saurabh are known confidants of Anandi Patel, which puts her on a stronger footing, particularly after her strongest rival Amit Shah has been moved out of the state and put in charge of Uttar Pradesh.

 Interestingly, a section of the analysts maintain that Modi’s choice of successor may well end with the current speaker of the assembly and former Finance minister Vaju Vala.