A severe drubbing in Bihar elections has no doubt diminished the aura of Amit Shah as a master strategist. The BJP chief's grip on the party, however, remains firm as he continues to enjoy the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS.

A severe drubbing in Bihar elections has no doubt diminished the aura of Amit Shah as a master strategist. The BJP chief's grip on the party, however, remains firm as he continues to enjoy the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the RSS. He will secure another term as BJP president when it’s due in January 2016. Shah is currently serving the remainder of the term of one-and-half years of former president Rajnath Singh who resigned in July 2014 after becoming the home minister.

A party source with a great deal of understanding of the organisation told Firstpost that Shah’s organisational skills were valuable to the party. In the round of assembly elections in 2016, the BJP does not have much at stake in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Pudduchery. Only Assam is of interest.

But the elections in Uttar Pradesh in 2017 will be a high-stakes battle. Managing parliamentary elections in this state as party general secretary had earned Shah the adjective of master strategist. The BJP had won 73 seats out of the total of 80 seats, an incredible feat by any reckoning. He had spent a great deal of time and energy in the run-up to the elections, going to each district and block, and interacting with party leaders and workers at the grassroots level. His skills will be put to test here once again. In the UP assembly, the BJP has been on a continuous slide since 2002.

Though it is said even a week or two is a long time in politics but as per the current road map for Shah, as an informed source said, the big news on him will come after conclusion of UP polls, irrespective of its outcome – Shah will be sent back to Gujarat to replace the incumbent chief minister Anandiben Patel and lead Gujarat assembly election, due in the closing months of 2017.

Anandiben Patel would make an honourable exit on the pretext that she had turned 75 and thus in keeping with unstated principles of the party she was relinquishing the post and electoral politics.

BJP’s fortunes in Gujarat are linked with Modi’s personal prestige and it is supremely important to him that the party wins yet again in 2017. Shah enjoys high popularity rating in Gujarat and it remains to be Modi’s most trusted lieutenant. A raging Partidar movement has severely impacted BJP’s image and support base. There is a wide ranging feeling among BJP supporters that Anandiben has not been able to give the kind of leadership one would have expected from her.

The elections for six municipal corporations, 56 nagarpalikas, 31 district panchayats and 230 taluka panchayats of Gujarat will be held on November 22 and 29. In view of the Patel community’s threat to go against the BJP, these elections are drawing additional popular interest within and outside the state.

Shah has to be take up Modi’s mantle in Gujarat, sources said. Will the post-UP election scenario be the best occasion for him to do so? That is the key question.