Narendra Modi Narendra Modi

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is known to spring surprises and is likely to prove untrue speculation that his close aide Anandi Patel, the Gujarat revenue minister, will step into his shoes as the next chief minister of India's western-most state.

With the Congress suffering a complete wipeout in the state in this year's General Elections, Modi is now reportedly flirting with the idea of depriving the Grand Old Party of its last vestiges of support in Gujarat, the tribals, by appointing a tribal leader as his successor. And he has found a viable nominee in his state Forest and Environment Minister Ganpat Vasava (42).

Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is reportedly flirting with the idea of picking tribal leader and state Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava (right) as his successor in Gujarat, instead of his rumoured choice Anandiben Patel (left). Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi is reportedly flirting with the idea of picking tribal leader and state Forest Minister Ganpat Vasava (right) as his successor in Gujarat, instead of his rumoured choice Anandiben Patel (left).

At a state Cabinet meeting held just a day before the Lok Sabha election results, Modi asked Vasava, who is sixth in hierarchy in his cabinet of seven, to sit next to him. The sitting arrangement generally does not send a message but insiders say this is Modi's style of conveying to his colleagues his choice and method.

A senior leader described Vasava's reported impending anointment as a result of Modi's "long-term planning". Vasava was first elected to the state Assembly in 2007 and made the Speaker. Modi inducted him into the Cabinet after the 2012 Assembly elections.

Vasava's appointment as the chief minister could help the BJP make inroads among the tribals, who constitute a massive 14 per cent of the total electorate. The tribals have emerged as a sureshot votebank for the Congress since their leader Amarsinh Chaudhary's election as the chief minister in 1984.

They went against the Congress after the 2002 communal riots and voted for the BJP in the Assembly polls that year. But that remained a one-off event, with the tribals sticking to the Congress camp in all the subsequent elections.

With most of the country and Gujarat under the influence of a Modi wave, the PM-designate would like to ensure that the tribal belt of his state becomes a permanent BJP stronghold as well. In this light, picking a young tribal leader as the chief minister could be the right political strategy.