Two days ago when Bhupendra Patel took oath for the second time as Gujarat’s chief minister and his team of 16 ministers was also sworn in, there were many raised eyebrows. One of the notable omissions was Shankar Chaudhary, a powerful OBC leader from north Gujarat.
On Thursday, it was announced that Shankar Chaudhary will be the speaker and Jetha Bharwad alias Ahir will be the deputy speaker. Chaudhary won from Tharad in north Gujarat and Bharwad from Shehra in central Gujarat.
Shankar, 52, is an important name in the dairy sector and chairman of Banas Dairy. He was a minister in the Anandiben Patel-led BJP government. He had lost the last elections but his importance continued as he headed the Banas Dairy.
He is considered to be the rival of another BJP leader Vipul Chaudhary, who is also an important name in the dairy sector and had headed the Dudhsagar Dairy in north Gujarat. Vipul, who was behind bars following alleged irregularities during his tenure as the chairman of Dudhsagar Dairy, recently got bail from the Supreme Court.
The way the BJP has won the seats in north Gujarat, it appears that the Arbuda Sena—a social outfit set up by Vipul—has voted for the BJP.
Bharwad, 72, is considered a strong man in the tribal belt. In the recently concluded elections, he courted controversy when he alleged that Arvind Kejriwal is trying to divide the country and that he should go to either Pakistan or Afghanistan.
Ironically, both Shankar and Bharwad were caught watching an “objectionable” clip during the assembly session in 2012.