While Modi and Shah may have been responding to changed circumstances, the change of guard in Gujarat also reflects the establishment of a high command culture in the BJP. This is something that the party has criticised the Congress for.
Despite his connection to Patidar organisation, there’s no denying the fact that Bhupendra Patel is a political lightweight. He’s a first-time MLA and won from a known BJP bastion like Ghatlodia in Ahmedabad.
Even if Modi and Shah wanted to appease Patidars, there were several leaders with relatively more political clout that the party could have chosen from such as Parshottam Rupala, RC Faldu, Jitu Vaghani besides of course Deputy CM Nitin Patel, who lost out yet again and may seen his influence reducing even further.
It is clear that the party leadership wanted a political lightweight. The Congress has already called Bhupendra Patel a “remote-controlled chief minister”.
Besides the need to control things from Delhi, Modi and Shah are also sending…