Amit Chavda replaces cousin Bharatsinh Solanki as Gujarat Congress chief

In a surprise pick, the Congress party on Tuesday appointed young MLA Amit Chavda as the president of its Gujarat unit. Chavda replaces his cousin Bharatsinh Solanki who had recently relinquished charge of the post.

The All India Congress Committee said in a release that party president Rahul Gandhi had appointed MLA Amit Chavda as president of Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in place of Bharatsinh Solanki.

Chavda's appointment as Gujarat Congress president comes as a surprise for many as a number of senior leaders such as Kunvarji Bavaliya and Jagdish Thakor were believed to be front runners to replace Bharatsinh Solanki. However, like Bavaliya and Thakor, Chavda also belongs to Other Backward Classes (OBC).

Congress sources said that Chavda, who was in the national capital, met Rahul Gandhi at the latter's residence in the afternoon before his name was formally announced as the party's Gujarat unit chief.

Chavda, who will turn 42 next month, has studied chemical engineering, and is a four-term legislator from Anklav assembly constituency in Anand. He is the youngest so far to head Congress in Gujarat.

Chavda is a first cousin of incumbent Bharatsinh Solanki, who had submitted his resignation from the post last week.