GandhinagarOctober 4, 2025 07:05 AM IST
First published on: Oct 4, 2025 at 07:05 AM IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had chosen Nikol, a suburb on the eastern side of Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad, to address a rally on August 25, marking 10 years of the Patidar quota agitation. A little over a month later, the BJP has picked Jagdish Vishwakarma, its MLA from Nikol – an area dominated by Patidars and one of the sites of violent protests during the 2015 quota agitation – as its new Gujarat chief.
Vishwakarma, 52, who is a Minister of State holding multiple portfolios in the Bhupendra Patel government, and is seen as very close to senior BJP leader Amit Shah, was the only one to file his nomination for the post by the end of deadline Friday. He will be formally announced as the new state chief on Saturday, succeeding C R Patil, who had a very successful tenure lasting over five years (more than two years of that on extension).
Vishwakarma, who also goes by ‘Jagdish Panchal’, is only the second OBC leader to become Gujarat BJP chief, after Kashiram Rana. He will also be the first party leader from Ahmedabad city to hold the top BJP post in the state. His choice is in keeping with the BJP’s recent OBC push, and appears to be an attempt by the party to win over backward classes in Central and North Gujarat.
Incidentally, the Congress recently appointed Amit Chavda, an OBC from Central Gujarat, as its state chief.
In fact, the other two names doing the rounds for Gujarat BJP president, Mayank Nayak and Uday Kangad, are also OBCs.
A former party office-bearer described Vishwakarma as “a workers’ leader”. “He is a leader who will speak for workers and stand by dedicated workers. I have seen him asserting himself even before higher-ups when it comes to running a party unit.”
Another party source said that the choice of Vishwakarma shows that “efficiency and merit” weighed over any other other criteria. “Him being an OBC is an added advantage. Knowing Vishwakarma, I believe big changes are on the cards in the state unit.”
The BJP issued a notification for election of the state president on Thursday, and by the end of the nomination deadline of 2 pm on Friday, only Vishwakarma had filed his papers. The 39 posts for the BJP’s National Council saw a similar “consensus” over candidates.
Gujarat BJP media convenor Yagnesh Dave confirmed that only Vishwakarma had filed his nomination for state president. A BJP press release said the name of the next president would be formally announced Saturday at an event attended by senior party leaders like the election in-charge K Lakshman, the BJP state in-charge and Union minister Bhupender Yadav, outgoing president and Union minister C R Patil, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, and party organising secretary Ratnakar, among others.
Vishwakarma is scheduled to take out a rally from his residence to state headquarters Shree Kamalam before the event.
From booth worker to party chief
Vishwakarma started his political journey as a booth worker in Thakkarbapanagar constituency of Ahmedabad in 1998. In 2013, he became convenor of the party’s Industry Cell at the state level, and has also served as the BJP Ahmedabad city unit president.
He was elected to the Gujarat Assembly for the first time in 2012, from Nikol, and retained the constituency in 2017 and 2022.
Set to be the 12th president of the Gujarat BJP, Vishwakarma holds the portfolios of Cooperation; Salt Industries; Printing and Stationery; Protocol; Micro, Small and Medium Industries; Cottage, Khadi and Rural Industries; and Civil Aviation in the Gujarat Cabinet. For the portfolios of Cooperation, Salt Industries, Printing and Stationery, and Protocol, he holds Independent charge.
Married with a son, Vishwakarma owns a textile machinery manufacturing business, and has interests in real estate and marketing.