Outgoing Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel will tender her resignation to Gujarat Governor OP Kohli at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar at 5 p.m. on Wednesday. Her resignation was accepted by the parliamentary board of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in a meeting on Wednesday, senior leader Venkaiah Naidu said.
The BJP parliamentary board meeting was held at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence in New Delhi and was attended by all senior party leaders, including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkai and Amit Shah.
"The parliamentary board meeting took place today to discuss Gujarat CM Anandiben's resignation letter. We debated and discussed the letter and keeping in mind her request to relieve her off the post, the board accepted her resignation... She will meet the Governor and tender her resignation," the urban development minister said, adding, "She has set an example for the lakhs of party workers and she has worked really hard for the party as an MLA and a CM."
He ruled out speculations that BJP chief Amit Shah would be appointed the new chief minister of Gujarat, saying that the "party wants him to lead us in national politics." Naidu added that Shah will head the panel that will decide on who would be the next chief minister of the state.
The BJP appointed Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and General Secretary Saroj Pandey as observers who would visit Gujarat to hold meetings. The name of the next chief minister of the state will be decided after the consultations.
The names doing the rounds as the potential candidates for taking up the post include Gujarat Health Minister Nitin Patel, state BJP chief Vijay Rupani, Union minister Purshottam Rupala, and Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava, who is also a tribal leader.
According to a BJP policy, leaders above 75 years of age are discouraged from holding any administrative post. Anandiben Patel had cited her advanced years as the reason behind her resignation.
Patel had resigned on Monday through a post on her Facebook page saying that it was high time new leaders took over. She also thanked PM Modi for making her the chief minister of Gujarat.
