Who will make it to the new Gujarat ministry? Bhupendra Patel’s real challenge

Shankar Chaudhary: Chairman of Banas Dairy and former minister in the Anandiben Patel government, Chaudhary who was defeated in the 2017 election by Congress’s Geniben Thakor on the Vav seat, has won this time from Tharad. From the powerful Chaudhary community of the OBCs, Chaudhary had helped set up a milk producing plant of the Banas Dairy, one of the richest dairies, at PM’s constituency of Varanasi. While campaigning for him, Union Minister Amit Shah had said, “You give your votes to Shankarbhai and make him an MLA; this party will do the work of making him an important person,”

Rushikesh Patel: He held the important health portfolio in the outgoing government, even as the Covid pandemic was on. A Patidar from Visnagar of Mehsana, Rushikesh’s office was vandalised by protesters during the Hardik Patel-led quota agitation in 2015. He has defeated Congress’s Kirit Patel from Visnagar constituency.

Amit Thaker: A Brahmin face of Gujarat BJP, Thaker rose from ranks. He is also the former national president of the party’s youth wing. Thaker has been elected from Vejalpur constituency, which also covers parts of Juhapura, the largest Muslim ghetto of Gujarat. Thaker was among those facing charges of allegedly assaulting activist Medha Patkar during a peace meeting after the riots in 2002.

Alpesh Thakor: A youth leader from the OBC Thakor community, Alpesh came to limelight while opposing the Patidar quota agitation by Hardik Patel. He got elected from Gandhinagar South constituency, winning it inspite of it not being a familiar terrain. This will be Alpesh’s second term as MLA in Gujarat, after his earlier win from the Radhanpur seat on a Congress ticket. Alpesh may get a junior minister charge.

Kanu Patel: Kanu Patel has been elected from Sanand constituency of Ahmedabad district for the second time. Coming from Koli-Patel community, Kanu is considered to be one of the ministers of state in the next Gujarat government. He enjoys the confidence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Sanand falling in the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency, Shah had accompanied him to file his nomination.

Jagdish Panchal: Another BJP MLA considered close to Amit Shah, Panchal was minister of industries in the outgoing government, and was handed charge of roads and buildings when the incumbent cabinet minister Purnesh Modi was relieved of it. An OBC, he got re-elected from Nikol constituency of Ahmedabad city, winning by a margin of over 55,000 votes, against Congress’s Ranjitsinh Barad.

Ramanlal Vora: One of the senior most BJP candidates in the latest assembly, Vora is a prominent Dalit leader. He has held important portfolios such as education and social justice and empowerment in the past and was also the Assembly Speaker. He may get appointed either as Speaker again or as a senior cabinet rank minister. He has been elected from the reserved seat of Idar in Sabarkantha.

Manisha Vakil: Minister of state for women and child development (independent charge) and minister of state for social justice and empowerment in the outgoing cabinet, Vakil is a three-term MLA from the reserved Scheduled Caste constituency of Vadodara city. Considered a close aide of Anandiben Patel, Vakil worked as a teacher before being fielded from the reserved seat of Vadodara city in 2012. She is among those who pushed for inclusion of areas in her seat of a mixed neighbourhood under the Disturbed Areas Act.

Ketan Inamdar: An OBC candidate who won his third term from Savli constituency, Inamdar is frontrunner for a cabinet post. He made his aspirations clear when he addressed a press conference along with other MLAs, expressing disappointment that leaders of Vadodara and Central Gujarat were left out of the Cabinet. Inamdar resigned from the party in 2020 but withdrew his resignation after a meeting with then party president Jitu Vaghani. He is also a board director of Baroda Dairy.

Purnesh Modi: Made a state cabinet minister in Bhupendra Patel government for the first time, Modi held the portfolio of tourism and pilgrimage development, and civil aviation. A member of Modhvanik community, as PM Modi, he is a complainant in the defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding an allegedly defamatory speech. He was stripped of the roads and buildings portfolio when the government faced flak for the dilapidated condition of roads during monsoon.

Sangita Patil: A close confidant of Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil, she has been with him since he launched the vernacular newspaper, Navgujarat Times. Like Paatil, she is also a Maharashtra migrant. Limbayat, her constituency, is a part of the Navsari seat that Paatil won in the Lok Sabha. A constituency with mostly migrant votes, it saw a close fight with 44 candidates—a majority of them independents—in the fray.

Vinodbhai Moradiya: State Minister for Urban Housing and Urban Development who defeated AAP state president Gopal Italia by a margin of 64,627 votes from Katargam seat, he was on the hotseat with the Prajapati community sending out messages that it would only support a candidate from its community. The minister was in a spot when his ministry drafted the stray cattle control bill that was passed only to be withdrawn after the maldhari community protested.

Sandip Desai: An Anavil Brahmin, Desai was general secretary of the Surat district BJP unit. A major co-operative leader, Desai has clout in the Surat APMC, Surat District Co-operative Bank and SUMUL dairy.

Naresh Patel: Outgoing minister of tribal development, he is from the Dodiya Patel tribe who retained the Gandevi reserved seat of Navsari district that falls in CR Paatil’s parliamentary constituency, Navsari Gandevi (ST). He played an active role in creating awareness among the tribals who were protesting the Par-Tapi-Narmada river linking project.

Jitu Chaudhary: He won the Kaprada (ST) in Valsad district with the lowest margin in 2017 at 170, on a Congress ticket, before defecting to the BJP. Now he retained the seat by a margin of 32,968 votes. He is winning the seat for the seventh consecutive term. Chaudhary was holding the portfolio of fishery, water resources and water supply. During his non-controversial tenure, he grew closer to Paatil.

Kunvarji Bavaliya: The Koli leader who switched over to the BJP in 2018 after quitting Congress and was water supply minister in the Vijay Rupani government is expected to find a berth in the new council of ministers. Bavaliya lost his cabinet berth after Rupani resigned September last year and was left out of the Bhupendra Patel government. Bavaliya won his seventh poll, handing BJP its first ever victory from Jasdan.

Jayesh Radadiya: Winning his fourth election from Jetpur seat, Radadiya is likely to find a place in the new government. Jayesh and his father Vitthal Radadiya defected to the BJP in 2013 with the former finding place in governments of Narendra Modi, Anandiben Patel and Vijay Rupai before being dropped in September 2021. He is also chairman of Rajkot District Cooperative Bank and holds sway over cooperative bodies.

Darshita Shah: A pathologist who won Rajkot West seat with a record margin hails from a family of RSS functionaries. She was elected to the Rajkot Municipal Corporation twice and is presently serving her second term as deputy mayor of Rajkot. Narendra Modi had contested from this seat to enter the Gujarat Assembly after being made CM in 2001. Before him, Vajubhai Vala, who holds the record of presenting most number of state budgets in Gujarat represented this seat. MLAs from this seat have always found a place in BJP governments.

Bhanu Babariya: A sitting corporator in Rajkot Municipal Corporation, Babariya is said to be in the race for ministerial berth after she won Rajkot Rural (SC) seat for third time. She was elected from this seat in 2007 and 2012 before being dropped by the BJP. After spending four years on sidelines, the BJP gave her ticket to contest RMC election and she won. Her father-in-law Madhubhai Babariya too was elected MLA from this seat in 1998.

Ramesh Tilala: An industrialist, who is also associated with Shree Khodaldham Trust, a powerful organisation of Leuva Patels, is the chairman of Shapar Veraval Industrial Association and might land a berth in the new council of ministers. The BJP has wrested back all five seats from Congress in Amreli district and name of Kaushik Vekariya, who defeated former Leader of Opposition Paresh Dhanani, is also believed to be under consideration for a ministerial berth.

Sanjay Koradiya: The former chairman of standing committee of Junagadh Municipal Corporation who made a successful debut by defeating sitting Congress MLA Bhikha Joshi from Junagadh seat is also believed to be a contender. The BJP won all seven seats in Bhavnagar district and veteran Shiva Gohil who won Mahuva seat is also believed to be being discussed for a ministerial berth.