Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) legislative party meeting is scheduled to take place at the party's headquarters in Gandhinagar at 2.30 pm on Sunday, reported news agency ANI. The meet is expected to finalise the name of the new Chief Minister of Gujarat after Vijay Rupani stepped down from the post on Saturday.
Probable candidates for the Chief Minister's post in Gujarat will be discussed at the meet.
"A series of meetings will be held today. All MPs, MLAs, will also meet at the party head office Shree Kamalam to discuss the leadership issue," Yagnesh Dave State Media Convener told ANI.
Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar reached Gujarat a few hours ago as BJP's central observer. He was accompanied by BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh. Soon after, both of them met other party leaders at state BJP chief CR Paatil's residence in Gandhinagar. Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India Bhupender Yadav also attended the meeting.
Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi is also likely to arrive in the state later during the day. He has also been appointed as BJP's central observer along with Tomar.
"I will hold consultations with Gujarat leaders, and then the central leadership will take a decision," said Joshi while speaking to reporters in Hubli in Karnataka.
The visit of the central leaders comes after Rupani on Saturday stepped down from the post of Chief Minister. He met Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitted his resignation.
It is not clear what prompted the development in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state where elections to the 182-member Assembly are due in December 2022.
Rupani (65), the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as chief minister - his second stint as CM - in December 2017.
BJP's general secretary (organisation) B L Santosh and Gujarat state unit in-charge Bhupender Yadav met party functionaries soon after Rupani announced his resignation.
"I have resigned as chief minister of Gujarat," Rupani told reporters after meeting Governor Acharya Devvrat and submitting his resignation letter.
"I was allowed to serve the state for five years. I have contributed to the development of the state. I will further do whatever is asked by my party," Rupani said.
"In BJP, there has been a tradition that responsibilities of party workers change from time to time. I will be ready to take whatever responsibility that the party will give me in the future," Rupani said.
"I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving a common worker like me this opportunity to serve the people of the state as chief minister," Rupani said.
Asked about reasons for his resignation, Rupani said, "In BJP, it is like a relay race for party workers. One gives the baton to the other." On who will be the next chief minister, Rupani said that the party will decide about it.
He denied that he had any differences with state BJP president C R Paatil.
Rupani comes from the Jain community which has around two per cent population in the state. There is speculation that his successor may be from the patidar community.
A decision on the next Chief Minister is likely to be made on Sunday after the meeting of MLAs. But sources told news agency ANI that Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Gujarat Minister RC Faldu, state BJP chief CR Patil, and state BJP vice president Gordhan Zadafia are been seen as possible choices for new chief minister.
Union health minister Mandaviya, who like Patel belongs to the influential Patidar community, is considered a front-runner for the CM's post.
Rupani first became the chief minister on August 7, 2016, following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and continued in the office after the BJP's victory in the 2017 Assembly elections.
Rupani is the fifth BJP CM leaving office since the pandemic began. The saffron party had also replaced Lingayat stalwart B S Yediyurappa as Karnataka CM with another Lingayat leader Basavaraj S Bommai.
In Uttarakhand, it replaced two Thakur chief ministers with another Thakur leader, and speculation was rife that Rupani, who comes from a numerically insignificant Jain community, may make way for a Patidar, the largest community in the western state.
Assam also saw the BJP replacing its chief minister of five years Sarbananda Sonowal with Himanta Biswa Sarma following the assembly elections earlier this year. However, this was considered more a case of the party rewarding Sarma than it taking any dim view of his predecessor, who was later made a Cabinet minister in the Modi government.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
