Ahmedabad:September 2021 was a historic month for Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel, who contested the assembly elections for the first time in 2017. It was the month when the Ghatlodia MLA was made the chief minister overnight by replacing the BJP-led Vijay Rupani government.
A soft-spoken person with strong personality, Patel came to power amid many challenges and created a record for the BJP by winning 156 seats in 2022 assembly polls. Initially overseeing good planning and result oriented operations at Ahmedabad Corporation and Auda, Patel has quietly introduced many development initiatives in the state.
It has been a somewhat smooth ride for Patel ever since he became the CM for the second time on December 12, 2022. The state has not witnessed any caste-based or communal riots and agitations during this period. Be it the issue of TRB jawans or the demands of health workers, Patel has shown political wisdom by conveniently adopting the middle path.
According to political analyst Jaywant Pandya, there are no major challenges from the opposition parties in Gujarat. Patel, who has maintained a clean image, has not yet come under any controversy or criticism, he said. But, winning 26 Lok Sabha seats in the state in 2024 will be a tough challenge for the BJP, he added.
Pandya said that although the opposition is weak, people are dissatisfied with the government on many issues. "Often lack of coordination between ministers come to the fore. It seems that the Chief Minister lacks experienced experts in his team," he said.
In 2017 assembly elections, BJP had promised to improve the roads, but even today the roads are in a deplorable condition. State municipal bills are pending as slow functioning of metro railways and lack of parking facilities near metro stations leave commuters angry.
In the one-year tenure of Patel's second term, the state witnessed many initiatives, which had an impact on Gujarat's development. Parallel meetings were held across the state under the G-20 as Gujarat was presented at the national and global stage. The Gujarat model of development has proven useful in attracting foreign investment and a major chunk of investments came in the fields of pharma, finance, food technology and renewable energy.
Congress said that Patel is a good person but has failed as a Chief Minister. "There are a lot of scams in his government. There are frauds in milk and cheese and even fake government officials are setting up fake offices. As Bhupendra Patel's government has completed one year, I expect people to remain firm and justify the work not just in slogans but in reality," Dr. Manish Doshi, chief spokesperson of Congress said.
Vibrant Gujarat Summit is set to complete 20 years in 2024. This time, district level summits were organised for the first time across the state. Proposals worth Rs 45,000 crore were bagged along with creation of 2.25 lakh jobs. Gujarat is the first state in India to develop microchip and will become semiconductor manufacturing hub.
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