GANDHINAGAR: National BJP president Amit Shah's bungalow in Thaltej was the centre of all political action in Gujarat on Thursday. Shah held hectic, back-to-back meetings ahead of Friday when the name of the new Gujarat chief minister will be announced.
State BJP president Vijay Rupani said at the end of the day's meetings that the name of the new chief minister will be announced at a meeting of state BJP MLAs on Friday at 4 pm.
Rupani declined to name the new CM saying it is the right of the MLAs to choose their leader. “The name of the chief minister will be announced only at 4 pm on Friday at Kamalam,'' Rupani said. Kamalam is the BJP's state headquarters.
Despite the series of meetings, the suspense over the next Gujarat chief minister continues as the BJP has kept it a closely guarded secret.
However, source said that the way Gujarat minister Nitin Patel was involved in all decision-making in the past two days while other ministers and senior MLAs were kept away, the secretariat was abuzz with speculation that he has already been chosen successor to Anandiben Patel.
Nitin Patel, however, was evasive on this question. When asked whether he will be the next chief minister, he said: “It's the right of the party MLAs to decide the leader. As a worker of the BJP, I am ready to accept any responsibility given to me.“
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.