Political development in the saffron party's Gujarat unit continued as the party high command appointed young Patel MlA from Bhavnagar West Jitu Vaghani as the 11th president of Gujarat BJP on Thursday.
"BJP national president appointed Vaghani as Gujarat president with immediate effect. Party's national general secretary Arun Singh has also informed the same through a letter," confirmed Gujarat BJP spokesman Bharat Pandya.
46-year-Vaghani replaced Vijay Rupani who resigned the post of Gujarat BJP president a day before he took oath as Gujarat Chief Minister on Sunday. In the 2012 Assembly polls, he had become MlA for the first time. Though he fought earlier Assembly election from the same constituency but lost against senior Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil.
As far as the party organisation is concern, he earlier worked as president of State BJP youth wing and also as State BJP secretary. He was also active in Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and also remained Senate Member of Bhavnagar University for five years.
Apparently BJP's national president Amit Shah zeroed in on Vaghani and did balancing act by putting a Patel face to command state BJP affairs after Rupani, a non-Patel became the Chief Minister. Rupani belongs to Jain Bania community, which is less than one per cent of the State's population.
Considered as master strategist, BJP chief Amit Shah did micro level social engineering by giving representation too both leuva and Kadva sub-castes of Patel by making Vaghani as State BJP president and Nitin Patel as Deputy Chief Minister respectively.
Besides, Shah made it a point to give representation to Saurashtra region where maximum damage control required in context to pro-quota Patidar agitation as well as flogging of Dalit youths and protests of Dalits connected to the incident.
While Rupani and Vaghani are from Saurasthra region, Nitin Patel belongs from North Gujarat, where intensity of Patidar agitation was high.
Young Vaghani's appointment as Gujarat BJP chief has sent clear indication in the party cadre that in the coming days youngsters would be given more importance.