Nitin Patel was the man of the moment in Gujarat until he wasn’t. Tipped to be the successor to Anandiben as the Gujarat chief minister, he is one of the tallest Patel leaders the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) has in the state.
Patel is contesting the elections from the Mehsana city constituency against the Congress’s Jivabhai Patel, a former MP. The constituency also has a lot of independents contesting for the seat. In 2012, he took home the trophy with an excess of 20,000 votes.
The deputy CM is currently leading on his seat.
Mehsana had emerged as a battleground as early as 2015 when it had become the centre of the Patidar agitation. The agitation even impacted the local body polls with the BJP losing its hold.
After the Patidar agitation led by Hardik Patel sealed Anandiben’s fate, Patel, a five-time MLA, would have been the ideal choice to take over and mend bridges with the community that has long supported the BJP in Gujarat. He was also close to Anandiben but in the end Vijay Rupani, a seemingly non-controversial choice, was settled upon.
Patel, who has served in the cabinet of Narendra Modi and has handled portfolios like finance and revenue, was made the deputy CM of the state.
Patel had sought to undercut the threat posed by Hardik Patel earlier by calling him and the Congress “fools” after Hardik Patel had said that the Congress has promised to bring a bill on reservation for Patidars if voted to power. Patel had reportedly said that Hardik Patel is trying to misguide the Patidar community. “Congress leaders like Kapil Sibal have made a fool of Hardik by offering such a formula,” he had said.
It remains to be seen whether the Patidar community, which has been adamant in its demand for the OBC status, will stand by old leader Nitin Patel, by electing him, or new leader Hardik Patel, by rejecting Nitin Patel.
