FB first, party later; Anandiben Patel quits

Speculations about Anandiben Patel’s days as Gujarat chief minister being numbered turned true on Monday as the state’s first woman chief minister announced her resignation on a Facebook post. 

“For some time, there has been a tradition in the party (BJP) that party workers who attain the age of 75, voluntarily relinquish their responsibilities. This gives an opportunity to the next generation,” Anandiben, who would soon 75, wrote in her post. She succeeded Narendra Modi as chief minister in May 2014.

Party insiders, however, say that her fate was sealed two months ago, when she was asked by the BJP high command (prime minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah) to submit her resignation, highly placed sources in the BJP told dna. BJP sources said that the decision regarding Anandiben’s resignation was taken in May itself. 

However, she was allowed to continue for “some time” after she argued that “being forced to resign would be a blot on her over three-decades long political career,” said a source.

“Ben had requested some time so that she could make an honourable and graceful exit, which the party allowed,” said the source.

While the public line taken by Anandiben and also the party is that she was resigning because of the unwritten rule of 75 years, insiders confirm that the central leadership was not happy with her performance.

“The government fumbled in its tackling of both the Patel reservation agitation and the ongoing Dalit protests. It was seen as a failure on the part of the chief minister in reading the ground situation correctly, which could cost the BJP dearly,” said a source in the party.

Another source said that the BJP’s poor performance in local civic body elections in December 2015, which saw Congress emerging the big winner in rural areas, went against her.

“The prime minister also did not take kindly to the corruption charges against her, and her family members,” said the source. 

Anandiben's offer to resign on the Facebook post came around 4.30 pm on Monday, taking everyone by surprise. She was in office till around 3.45 pm, before leaving for her official residence, from where the post was uploaded.

Patel claimed that she had made a similar request to the party two months ago. The chief minister’s FB post came as a bolt from the blue to even senior BJP leaders in the state.

State BJP president and labour minister Vijay Rupani was addressing media persons when he learnt about Ben’s post. Rupani left the briefing and rushed to the CM’s residence, saying he would comment about it after conferring with her. Late in the evening, Rupani reiterated the Anandiben had decided to resign because of the 75-year rule.

In New Delhi, BJP’s national president Amit Shah, whose differences with Anandiben are well known, said that the party’s parliamentary board would decide on the resignation.

“I will place the letter she has written to me before the parliamentary board and it will take a decision,” Shah said.

Rupani, who, many see as the front runner to replace Anandiben, denied that the state government’s mishandling the of Patel and Dalit agitations had cost Ben her job. 

Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that her resignation shows that the BJP fears a defeat in the Assembly elections.

“The Gujarat chief minister’s resignation is an indication of BJP’s sure defeat in 2017 elections,” senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel tweeted.

Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet that Anandiben’s resignation is the result of AAP’s fast-growing popularity in Gujarat, and the BJP was terribly scared of this.

“Her resignation is a victory of AAP’s fight against corruption in Gujarat,” Kejriwal wrote in another tweet.

Stepping in to Modi’s shoes has always been challenging for Anandiben. However, she did try her best to come out of the shadows with schemes such as Gatisheel Gujarat, and other welfare measures, especially for women and backward classes.