Gujarat BJP to get new chief following Patil’s induction into Union Cabinet

People aware of the matter said Patil’s successor will be named within a month and is likely to be from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community

Gujarat’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set for a leadership change following C R Patil’s induction into the Union Cabinet. Patil’s term as the state BJP chief was extended ahead of this summer’s Lok Sabha elections.

State BJP chief C R Patil was inducted into Union Cabinet on Sunday (X)

People aware of the matter said Patil’s successor will be named within a month and is likely to be from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community as the party seeks to regain the lost ground. Congress’s Geniben Thakor from the Thakor OBC community managed to win a Lok Sabha seat in Gujarat. In the 2014 and 2019 elections, BJP won all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state.

OBC leaders Jagdish Vishwakarma, who is also a state minister, and Purnesh Modi, a three-time assembly member are seen to be front-runners to replace Patil. Purnesh Modi’s defamation suit led to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s conviction last year. Devusinh Chauhan, the Member of Parliament from Kheda who was a minister in the previous Narendra Modi government, was also being considered for the post of Gujarat BJP president.

A BJP functionary said the Central leadership will take the final decision in consultation with the state government.