With 15 months to go for Gujarat assembly polls, the BJP named the relatively low-profile first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel to replace Vijay Rupani as CM. The party’s choice took everyone by surprise. Even Patel’s family had no inkling until his name was announced at the televised press conference. There could be a number of reasons behind the change at the helm ahead of polls, including the caste factor—Rupani belongs to the Jain community and there were indications that the BJP would pick a Patidar leader—and discontent over handling of the Covid pandemic’s second wave. At the peak of the second wave, the high court found the state’s preparedness to be “not satisfactory and not transparent”.