Overview

• Party officials said a formal announcement and oath ceremony will be held at 10 am on Saturday in Gandhinagar in the presence of senior leaders and Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
• Vishwakarma’s selection is being framed as projecting an OBC leader ahead of 2026 local polls, following Congress’s move to install OBC leader Amit Chavda as its state chief.
• He will be the 12th Gujarat BJP president, only the second from the OBC community to hold the post, and the first from Ahmedabad city.
• With CM Bhupendra Patel and Vishwakarma both representing Ahmedabad constituencies, political and organisational power is set to be concentrated in the city.
• Vishwakarma, 52, is a three-time MLA from Nikol and a Minister of State handling cooperation and MSME-linked portfolios, and coverage notes his long organisational career and rapport with Amit Shah; some reports speculate a cabinet reshuffle could alter his role.