Union home minister Amit Shah, who appeared to have distanced himself from the BJP’s affairs in Gujarat for over a year, is back in the thick of election management in the state where the party is facing a rebellion from leaders denied tickets.
On Sunday, Shah was in Gandhinagar, meeting state unit leaders to take stock of the unrest and the situation on the ground. He reached out to some of the rebels to pacify them and also held meetings with workers, party leaders said.
Shah, the second most powerful leader in the BJP after Narendra Modi, has been keeping off party matters in Gujarat since September last year when the then chief minister, Vijay Rupani, and his council of ministers were suddenly replaced.
He did not visit Morbi where 135 people died in a bridge collapse last month. “As home minister of the country from Gujarat, it was expected that Amitbhai would rush to Morbi but he didn’t,” a Gujarat MP said.
Amit Shah meets BJP workers in Ahmedabad on Sunday night. PTI
Rupani was widely known to be Shah’s nominee and the move to replace him a year ahead of the polls was seen as a blow to the Union minister’s clout. Bhupendra Patel, a firsttime MLA, was picked as chief minister by Modi, the sources said.
Another setback came when Jitu Vaghani, again seen as Shah’s nominee, was replaced as state party president with C.R. Paatil.
“It seems Amitbhai has been asked by the top to take charge and so he has got into action,” the MP added, hinting at a nudge from Modi.
On Sunday, Shah said in an interview to News 18: “It’s natural for someone to be unhappy if some decision goes against him. But in the BJP everyone is bound by discipline and once a decision is taken, all have to accept it and work together to ensure victory for the party.”
The interview is being seen as a signal that Shah had taken charge of the polls.
Shah said that he had spoken to the rebels and been assured they would work for the party. He projected a “record victory” for the BJP, dismissing any challenge from new entrant AAP.
Shah has extensive experience handling Gujarat, having served as the backroom manager for Modi when he was chief minister.
In the 2017 elections, too, Shah as party president had camped in the state and planned the strategy. The results, however, led to murmurs in the party over his abilities after the BJP turned in its worst performance since 1995, winning 99 of the 182 seats. After the elections, defections from the Congress took the tally well past 100.
Shah has now been pressed into service amid rebellions in over a dozen seats. Two prominent state leaders, including one tribal face, have quit the party and declared they would contest as Independents. Many others too have said they would contest as Independents.
The BJP had dropped over two dozen of its sitting MLAs and fielded new faces, many of them Congress turncoats.
Rupani and another senior leader trusted by Shah, Nitin Patel, too have been denied tickets. Although they have so far quietly accepted the party directive, BJP insiders fear their suppressed anger could impact the polls.
In Himachal Pradesh, which voted last Saturday, a similar rebellion was reported from unhappy ticket aspirants. Party chief J.P. Nadda, who hails from the hill state, had camped there for days trying to pacify the rebels.
“It’s apparent that Shah has stepped in reluctantly to manage the polls. It remains to be seen how he handles the rebels, who have shown rare audacity,” a BJP leader said.
