Gujarat BJP appoints a 'Patil' as party chief; safe ploy to thwart any infighting?

In what seems like an attempt to "neutralize Patidar" factor from the state's political landscape as well as growing "internal rifts between top leaders, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday announced the appointment of parliamentarian C R Patil as President of Gujarat unit. The development is said to have left the party workers "surprised" and equally "perplexed" considering the fact that Patil is not only considered a "non-Gujarati" but also hails from south Gujarat where the party stands the strongest.

Patil, a former controversial constable who has been to jail at least twice in criminal cases, is 65 years old who has roots in Jalgaon, Maharashtra. He is replacing Jitendra Vaghani also known as Jitu, a Patidar leader, the most dominant community in the state. He is considered close to both-Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and known for organising most of the grand events for the party. Patil, a third-time MP from Navsari about an hour drive from Surat, also looks after development works of Modi's parliamentary constituency- Varanasi.

"Everyone is surprised at his elevation to state party chief. He wasn't on the list of probables. I think even he must be surprised as we all know that Patel was eyeing for a ministerial berth," said a BJP source requesting not to be quoted. He added, "Uper sab decide karte hain, hum logon ko toh hawa bhi nahi lagti (People on top decide everything, we don't get even wind of it)."

Party sources said that "This is a result of infighting and Patil has been appointed as an attempt to neutralise those rifts and also possible rebellion over the appointment of any leader based on caste lines. Patil's caste in the state is as insignificant as the chief minister Vijay Rupani's (a jain)."

Sources said that in a state dominated by Patidar voters, who can make or break any political equation, BJP is playing "smartly" by making caste redundant for the time being. BJP doesn't have any immediate electoral challenge since Assembly polls are due in 2022. By appointing Patil, the party doesn't seem to have bothered about upcoming Assembly bypolls on eight seats which were all held by Congress MLAs who resigned ahead of Rajya Sabha polls and many of them have joined BJP. The Congress, on the other hand, has given prominence to Patidar leader Hardik Patel by elevating him to the post of party's working president.

Patil started as a constable who had several run-ins with the law after his name was associated in an illegal liquor business and was suspended at least twice. He was a prime accused in a multi-crore scam known as "Diamond Jubilee Co-operative Bank" in which he is accused of defaulting bank payment of Rs50 crore to a Surat-based bank. He remained in jail for several months. After joining BJP in the early 90s, he continued to rise politically from president Surat district BJP to becoming MP from Navsari for the first time in 2014.

"He is immensely popular in south Gujarat and is known as a down to earth leader and continues to be easily accessible. He is the first parliamentarian in the country whose office received ISO certification 9001:2008 for implementing government schemes. However, he doesn't have a base outside south where BJP continues to be the strongest party," said another BJP leader while adding that "we need to see how he takes everyone along."