Vadodara: The ruling BJP in the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) did a fine balance of caste and experience while making appointments to the key posts of the mayor, deputy mayor and standing committee chairman of the civic body.The party chose Dr Jigisha Sheth as the mayor for the next term of 2.5 years while Jivraj Chauhan and Satish Patel were selected as the deputy mayor and standing committee chairman respectively.The party also appointed Ketan Brahmbhatt as the leader of the party in the VMC and Alpesh Limbachiya as the whip. Both Brahmbhatt and Limbachiya are from the other backward class (OBC). The BJP’s attempt to balance caste equations emerged from the fact that Sheth is a Jain and Patel is a Patidar. In Chauhan, the scheduled castes got representation while other posts gave representation to OBCs.Sheth’s name was being discussed amongst the frontrunners for the post because of her experience and the fact that her tenure as the standing committee chairperson of the civic body was without any major controversy. She had held the post of the chairperson in 1999-2000 too and was also appointed on key posts of the party in the past including that of a member of the state executive committee and the vice president of the city unit for a decade.Sheth, who holds a post-graduation in anaesthesia, said that she felt indebted after being chosen for the post and would try her best to repay the debt. “We will begin working for the people from tomorrow morning itself. We will not only protect the environment, greenery and heritage of the city, but also focus on the day-to-day problems faced by citizens. The common man’s issues will be our priority,” she said.Jivraj Chauhan’s elevation to the post of the deputy mayor came as a surprise to many as he was appointed as a government appointed syndicate member of the M S University only recently. Sources said that the choice may have been made to give representation to a Dalit leader in the civic body.Chauhan is a secretary in the state unit of the BJP and is also a past president of the state unit of the Scheduled Caste Morcha of the party. He is also well-educated and holds a PhD in financial management. He is employed as a teacher by a city-based school.Patel, the newly appointed standing committee chairman, was the only member of the standing committee to be repeated. All other 11 members of the committee are fresh faces. While he may not have an illustrious educational background like Sheth and Chauhan, Patel has a good experience in the party’s organisation as well as in the cooperative sector.Patel is the former president of the Vadodara district youth wing of the BJP and the president as well as general secretary of the Vadodara district BJP. He is the chairman of the Chhani Nagarik Sahakari Bank and a director in the Baroda Central Cooperative Bank as well as Vadodara Sugar Cooperative.New deputy mayor courts controversyVadodara: Newly elected deputy mayor Jivraj Chauhan was mired in a row soon after the general board meeting that elected him. An audio clip of phone conversations mentioning him and those reportedly of his voice were circulated on a chat application.The clip and a note circulated with it hint that Chauhan had sought money to ensure that some temporary teachers of a university or college were made permanent. Former minister Ramanlal Vora too figures in one of the conversations, but categorically says that he had mentioned clearly that it was not possible to do so and that the caller should contact Chauhan if he had promised anything.When contacted, Chauhan categorically denied any dealing in money. “The conversation could be only about some work for which I was approached,” he said.

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