Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani resigns one year before state elections

Ahmedabad : Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani resigned from his post on Saturday in an unexpected turn of events ahead of Assembly Elections in the state.

"... has been a five-year journey for development of Gujarat... under guidance of PM Modi. Now, to further develop the state, with new energy and power, I have decided to resign as Chief Minister," Mr Rupani was quoted by news agency ANI.

"It is well known the BJP, as a party, keeps changing as per requirements... it is a speciality of our party that every worker delivers to the fullest, and I too will continue to work for the party with the same energy," he added.

With Vijay Rupani quitting from his post, the ruling BJP has left with three options – announce a successor, conduct early elections in the state, or leave the state under President's rule.

According to news reports, BJP has no plans of conducting early elections, which means a new successor may be announced soon.

Sources have said Mansukh Mandaviya, sworn in as the Union Health Minister in July, and Nitin Patel, who was Mr Rupani's deputy, are possible replacements. Both Mr Mandaviya and Mr Patel have reached the party office in capital Gandhinagar, ANI reported.

Meanwhile, Congress has attacked the ruling party and said the resignation is a proof that BJP is a complete failure in the state. Congress leader Hardik Patel said, "Resignation of Chief Minister is a decision taken to mislead people of Gujarat..."

And independent MLA Jignesh Mevani tweeted: "Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani resigns: People of Gujarat would have appreciated had Mr Rupani resigned for monumental mismanagement of Covid crisis. This resignation comes purely to take care of electoral arithmetic keeping 2022 Assembly polls in mind."

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