'The BJP's top leadership realised that their cadres are not happy with them, so they changed the ministers and got in new faces.'
In a major political shake-up ahead of the upcoming local body elections in Gujarat, the Bharatiya Janat Party on Friday, October 17, 2025, dropped several ministers and inducted new faces in an apparent bid to tackle growing anti-incumbency.
The reshuffle, which saw underperforming ministers removed, is being viewed as a strategic move by the BJP to reset its image and neutralise public anger.
Devanshi Joshi, editor, Jamawat Media, tell Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff this is part of the BJP's long-tested model of 'course correction' before elections, where unpopular leaders are replaced to create a sense of responsiveness among voters.
What is the reason for the ministers being dropped and the appointment of new ones in Gujarat?
This was expected for very long, as this is the strategy of the BJP whenever they see anti-incumbency developing in the state, they change the narrative to pro-incumbency.
So, if the people of Gujarat are not happy with certain ministers and they feel that a minister needs to be kicked out, the BJP does it. The anger is then diverted and people start living in hope.
Ministers linked to corruption or controversy are out. People are then happy to see new faces in the ministry.
This time also they have managed well by distributing portfolios across various regions of Gujarat in a balanced manner.
Is it the same strategy the BJP adopted when it replaced Vijay Rupani as chief minister a year before the 2022 assembly elections which then led to a landslide victory for the BJP?
This time they have not changed Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
At that point of time they did not repeat a single member of Rupani's cabinet; this time they have not touched some cabinet members. The strategy is not the same, but the intention is almost the same.
The BJP has 162 out of 182 MLAs in Gujarat. And yet it feels insecure of winning the assembly elections in 2027. What is the BJP afraid of?
The BJP is an expert at ground management and taking feedback (from the public). And it is not that the people of Gujarat love the BJP, as they keep a check and balance on the BJP.
What the BJP does is that it does not allow the Opposition parties to highlight any issue that shows it in a bad light.
In the Visavadar bypolls the BJP lost to the Aam Aadmi Party's Gopal Italia in spite of mobilising its party might.
The BJP makes it a point that their party workers never get complacent and when they face defeat, they pull up their socks immediately.
And when they change leaders at the top, it is then obvious their supporters will come to the Gujarat assembly, which makes them feel important.
The BJP at this moment feels that after Gopal Italia's victory the Patidar community (Patels) is changing their mood considering their huge presence at AAP rallies. Therefore, the BJP wants to stop the disease of defeat before it spreads to other constituencies.
Do parties like AAP and the Congress have the power and means to take on the BJP?
If they fight with conviction, then surely they will win.
Gujarat is not a tough state for Opposition parties to win. They can easily win the state as there are so many issues against the BJP which has been ruling the state for 30 years now.
But the problem with the Opposition parties is that they do not oppose the BJP with consistency.
Opposition parties get active against the BJP only during elections.
There needs to be consistency in their efforts to displace the BJP electorally in Gujarat.
Rahul Gandhi has started coming to Gujarat regularly. You cannot ignore the Congress in Gujarat.
But the fact is, it is only the BJP that can defeat the BJP in Gujarat.
The BJP's top leadership realised that their cadres are not happy with them and are searching for options, so they changed the ministers and got in new faces.
A phrase that scared the BJP in Gujarat was 'Visavadarwadi kar denge'. It means they will turn every assembly seat of Gujarat into Visavadar where the AAP candidate or the Opposition candidate will win.
This line 'Visavadarwadi kar denge' became active in the BJP's WhatsApp group. Every BJP MLA in Gujarat was being threatened by people stating that they better start delivering on the ground, otherwise they too will end up losing their seat like in Visavadar.
But what about the BJP ministers who are sacked? Don't they rebel?
These leaders have no standing among the public. They only shine under the sun of the BJP and PM Modi's leadership.
Leaders like Purshottam Solanki have their own power and their own vote bank. The BJP cannot touch a leader like him. He never visits the office but still he delivers for the BJP on the ground because of his personal popularity.
The BJP never touches leaders who are bigger than the BJP, only smaller leaders. These leaders are nothing without the BJP symbol. They cannot dare to rebel.
Is there any election coming up soon?
There are panchayat elections and Ahmedabad, Surat municipal elections are also going to be conducted soon.
Do the people of Gujarat feel the BJP has failed in governance?
Three issues, and the topmost among them is the roads of Gujarat.
Earlier Gujarat was known for its good roads but now there is so much corruption that the roads do not stay in good shape for even six months after construction.
The situation is so bad that wherever you go in Gujarat there is always work in progress going on.
Last year, the situation was so bad that the people of Gujarat started putting up the BJP flag on potholes.
Home Minister Amit Shah, who is a very active member of Parliament from Gandhinagar, has reprimanded local BJP leaders and the administration that they cannot get away with such shoddy construction of roads.
The second issue is that of farmers, who are not getting the right price for their produce.
In almost every market yard of Gujarat, farmers were protesting. The Botad violence was very bad. Gujarat had never witnessed such farmers violence in its recent history as even policemen got injured.
Farmers of Gujarat started warning the BJP that if they do not get the right price for their produce or if the government does not buy their produce like groundnuts, they will witness a Botad across Gujarat.
Thirdly, there is unemployment.
- Part 2 of the Interview: Why Harsh Sanghvi Is So Important For Gujarat BJP
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