Rupani, who completed five years in office on August 7 this year, was also present at the inauguration of Sardardham Bhavan, where Modi was present virtually. Amit Shah had also visited Gujarat four days ago. A source said, “In April, it was decided to not let Rupani complete the term as the state’s CM. He was well aware about it.”

Rupani, 65, the fifth Chief Minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the COVID-19 pandemic, was sworn in as CM—his second stint as CM—in December 2017. He first became the Chief Minister on August 7, 2016, following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and continued in the office after the BJP’s victory in the 2017 Assembly elections.

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Rupani is the fifth BJP CM leaving office since the pandemic began. The saffron party had also replaced Lingayat stalwart BS Yediyurappa as Karnataka CM with another Lingayat leader Basavaraj S Bommai.

In Uttarakhand, it replaced two Thakur CMs with another Thakur leader, and speculation was rife that Rupani, who comes from a numerically insignificant Jain community, may make way for a Patidar, the largest community in the western state.

Assam also saw the BJP replacing its CM of five years—Sarbananda Sonowal—with Himanta Biswa Sarma, following the Assembly elections earlier this year. However, this was considered more a case of the party rewarding Sarma than it taking any dim view of his predecessor, who was later made a Cabinet minister in the Modi government.

With inputs from Agencies

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