Gujarat BJP victors have been busy with wrangling and bargaining over Cabinet portfolios all through this week. In the process, a new balance of power has arisen in the BJP as revealed in the allocation of the state cabinet portfolios. CM Vijay Rupani, who was seen as a docile greenhorn in his first term, has successfully asserted his position, keeping a dozen portfolios. Deputy CM Nitin Patel has been cut to size. In the previous government, Nitin had been running the show with the help of fellow Kadwa Patidar and ex-CM Anandiben Patel due to Rupani's 'relative inexperience'. The deputy CM has lost the all-important finance portfolio to Saurabh Patel - a Leuva Patidar - who is also rewarded with the prestigious energy department. Saurabh, a relative of the powerful Ambani brothers, has staged a comeback, after having been left out in the cold in the previous ministry. Whether the new balance of power in the state ruling party will make it stronger and more capable to deal with the challenges of 2019 National Election remains to be seen. At the moment, there is no clue as to how the state government may cope with and neutralize the challenge posed by new political fragmantizers Hardik Patel, Alpesh Thakor, and Jignesh Mewani.