Gujarat confidential: Tough Spot

Eventually, the other group, led by Kishor Viradiya, a Patidar, has prevailed now.

The post of municipal officer of health (MOH) was lying vacant since 2016 after Dr Vijay Pandya resigned from the post. Dr Pankaj Rathod was given the charge. Rajkot Municipal Commissioner Udit Agarwal initiated the process of recruiting a new MOH and Dr Kinjal Viradiya was chosen as the city saw a sharp spike in the number of Covid-19 cases. However, Dr Viradiya resigned within a few weeks and was replaced by Dr Lalit Vanja. A day after he joined duty on August 21, Dr Vanja himself tested positive for Covid-19. A few days after he recovered and rejoined duties, Dr Rathod, a deputy MOH, tested positive. All this while, Covid-19 cases remained steady in the city in the range of around 95 fresh cases per day.

Patidars Return

With Sameer Shah’s loss at the election for the post of president of Saurashtra Oil Mills Association (SOMA), a Patidar group in this oil millers chamber has gained upper hand. SOMA used to be a very strong lobby till a couple of days ago as it controlled the edible oil industry in the state and Patidars used to rule the roost in SOMA. However, Shah, a Jain, had engineered a coup of sorts by exploiting faultlines in the body and becoming its president. Eventually, the other group, led by Kishor Viradiya, a Patidar, has prevailed now.

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