Anandiben Patel who was formerly Gujarat Chief Minister was appointed as the new governor of Madhya Pradesh. In a tweet, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that President Ram Nath Kovind was pleased to appoint Anandiben Patel as Governor with effect as soon as she assumes charge of her office.
Anandiben Patel will replace Governor Om Prakash Kohli who currently is the Governor of Gujarat and is in charge of the office of the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. Om Prakash Kohli was assigned the charge to this office in September 2016 as the post of Governor of Madhya Pradesh was vacant till now.
Patel who is 76 years old was the first woman CM of Gujarat starting 2014 (when Narendra Modi was made Prime Minister from Chief Minister) until August 2016 when she resigned from the office. After refusing to run again, it was speculated that she stepped down in the wake of handling the Patidar and Dalit agitation in the state in 2016. Patel is a member of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). Apart from being the former Gujarat Chief Minister, she was also the cabinet minister for education from 2002 to 2007, in the Bhartiya Janta Party-led government.
Her appointment as Governor has received a lot of support. Bharat Pandya, Gujarat BJP spokesperson congratulated the former Gujarat Chief Minister. Spokesperson Pandya said in a tweet that it is indeed a moment of pride for Gujarat as it is under the governance of Patel, a woman governor from the state. Anandiben Patel’s appointment is intended to conciliate the Patidar community while keeping her out of state politics. She hails from a family of farmers in Vijapur in Mehsana district. She joined BJP in 1986 as president of the party’s women wing and has since worked her way around various positions that have led up to Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
Anandiben Patel will be the second Gujarat Minister from BJP to have ever been made a governor. Before her appointment, Vajubhai Vala was the only BJP MLA to have been appointed the position of Governor of Karnataka.
Madhya Pradesh will be having state assembly elections this year. Some sources say that Ms. Anandiben Patel might have been assigned this position by the saffron party high command, as a calculated measure keeping in mind the forthcoming polls.
