Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani submits resignation; thanks BJP for opportunity
In a major political development, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has submitted his resignation from the post to Governor Acharya Devvrat on Saturday. After submitting his resignation, the BJP leader said that he is grateful to the party leadership for giving him the opportunity to serve as a chief minister. However, the reason behind Rupani's unexpected move is still unclear. Here are more details.
After submitting his resignation at the Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar, Rupani addressed the media, saying he is thankful to the BJP leadership but reportedly dodged questions about the reason behind his sudden decision to step down. Further, Rupani said that he remains committed to PM Narendra Modi's leadership and added, "I am ready to serve in whichever the role the party assigns to me."
Rupani, however, told the press his decision to resign was in accordance with the BJP tradition of offering an equal opportunity to all party members. "I want to thank BJP for giving me this opportunity to serve as Gujarat's CM. During my tenure, I got the opportunity to add to the development of the state under PM Modi's leadership," he said.
Rupani told ANI, "To further develop the state, with new energy and power, I have decided to resign as Chief Minister." "It is well known that the BJP...keeps changing as per requirements... It is a specialty of our party that every worker delivers his/her assigned job to the fullest... I too will continue to work for the party with the same energy," he added.
Notably, Rupani's resignation as the Gujarat CM comes just a year ahead of the Assembly elections in PM Modi's home state in 2022. When asked under whose leadership the BJP will be contesting the state polls next year, Rupani told the reporters that the party would be guided by the Prime Minister's central leadership.
Meanwhile, it is also unclear who will succeed Rupani as Gujarat's Chief Minister. So far, neither Rupani nor the BJP has revealed any details on this. However, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandviya, Gujarat's Deputy CM Nitin Patel, and State Cabinet minister RC Faldu are reportedly being considered the frontrunners for the top post. Patel would lead the government until a full-time CM is appointed.
To recall, Rupani took over as Gujarat's Chief Minister in 2016, succeeding Anandiben Patel. He was re-elected for a second term in 2017. The 65-year-old has become the fourth BJP CM to resign this year—after Trivendra Singh Rawat's exit as Uttarakhand's CM in March, followed by his successor Tirath Singh Rawat's resignation in July. BS Yediyurappa also stepped down as Karnataka's CM in July.
Following Rupani's resignation, however, the opposition has been raising questions on whether the BJP lacks confidence in its Chief Minister. Speaking to a news channel, the Working President of Gujarat Congress, Hardik Patel, asked, "If the BJP is claiming that their government has performed well over the past four years, what was the need for an overnight change in leadership?"
