Anandiben Patel

Will the new Chief Minister of Gujarat make her own policy choices or follow in the footsteps of her predecessor?

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel knows only too well that it will not be easy to fill her predecessor’s shoes. But she must be glad that she has the PM-elect’s best wishes. Anointing her CM was easy only after Narendra Modi made his choice clear, but until then there was complete silence. The state’s legislators—all 123 of them—were waiting for word from their master. Perhaps there was more to that silence: Patel and Amit Shah weren’t the best of friends. But then it didn’t matter any longer. For Shah, she had stopped being a rival long ago. With his gaining popularity and power, the old rivalry was only for memoirs.

With the opposition in disarray and the party under the control of the former Chief Minister, Patel, 73, is expected to find the going smooth. As the first female Chief Minister of Gujarat, she has credited Modi for her rise, while Modi, on his part, sees her as a disciplinarian who could carry forward his legacy—something that has come under extreme scrutiny. His 12-year-tenure has been both commended and ruthlessly criticised. While economists as famed as Jagdish Bhagwati lauded his governance and promoted his growth model as something to emulate, he came under sharp attack from political rivals, especially over Gujarat’s 2002 riots. However, it was this mix of extreme reactions that catapulted him to become the country’s most famous politician, revered and feared.

While critics say Patel will be remote- controlled from 1,100 km away—from Delhi, in a manner reminiscent of how the Manmohan Singh Government was run—it is not easy to dismiss her long experience in handling government departments and altering the complex nature of the revenue office in Gujarat. The senior-most minister in Gujarat has said that the BJP deserves her thanks for training women in politics and giving them lessons in competent governance. Patel, who belongs to a community that has been a strong support base for the BJP, says she will follow in the footsteps of Modi, whom she called a “leader of the 21st century”; a man who converts adversities into opportunities. Patel had headed a group of ministers and was in charge of running the day-to-day affairs of the state during the poll campaign as well. She has held important portfolios—education, urban development, revenue and disaster management. She has also successfully handled projects aimed at enhancing female literacy.

A former school teacher, Patel was thrust into mainstream politics after she earned much respect and fame by saving two school girls from drowning during an excursion, winning the Governor’s gallantry award for this heroic act. In 1987, Patel joined the BJP and went on to become the Gujarat Pradesh Mahila Morcha President. She was also the only female leader from Gujarat to take part in the BJP-led Ekta Yatra. Patel, who was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1994, had played a pivotal role in setting up irrigation projects as well. Now the question being asked is: will she remain in Modi’s shadow or will she act on her own volition?

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Ullekh NP

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