Vijay Rupani resigned as Chief Minister of Gujarat on Saturday evening in an unexpected move ahead of elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state late next year.
Mr. Rupani’s resignation was followed by that of his entire cabinet in a stunning twist that leaves the ruling BJP with three options – appoint a successor (and new cabinet), allow the state to come under President’s Rule, or have an Assembly election much earlier than scheduled.
It is unclear at this time what precipitated Mr. Rupani’s resignation, but sources have suggested it is a “course correction” by a BJP eager to change things around if it feels unsure in its state leadership.
The party’s strategy, it appears, is simple – ‘if there is any resentment against state leadership, sort it out now. There are recent examples – Karnataka and Uttarakhand.
In July BS Yediyurappa resigned as Karnataka Chief Minister following unrelenting calls for his removal by a section of the party’s state unit.
Before that, there was a double whammy in Uttarakhand, where Tirath Singh Rawat quit barely four months after replacing Trivendra Rawat.
The Uttarakhand example is particularly interesting because, like Gujarat, the state will hold elections next year. Trivendra Rawat and Tirath Singh Rawat were both replaced with around six months to polls, underlining the BJP’s willingness to take big decisions to retain power.
