For Gujarat's ruling leadership, the Gujarati New Year began at one address in Ahmedabad. On Tuesday, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi and state BJP president Jagdish Vishwakarma visited Union Home Minister Amit Shah at his residence to exchange greetings on Bestu Varas.

Patel later posted about the meeting on X. "Met the popular MP from Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency and Union Home and Cooperation Minister, respected Amit Shah, and conveyed my heartfelt New Year wishes to him," he wrote. He added that Shah's continued guidance would always give fresh energy to the state's development journey.

Sanghavi called his visit a courtesy call. "I paid a courtesy visit to the Union Minister, wished him Saal Mubarak and received his blessings," he said. Vishwakarma also met Shah and exchanged New Year greetings with him.

A festive open house

BJP leaders, party workers and other well-wishers gathered at Shah's residence through the day. In Gujarat, Bestu Varas is traditionally a day for visiting elders and mentors, and the custom carries extra political meaning when the host is the state's most influential leader in Delhi.

Shah also sent his wishes to people across Gujarat. He prayed for happiness, peace, prosperity and joy in every home and invoked the blessings of Goddess Lakshmi for every family.

Festivities mixed with governance

The greetings came at the end of a visit to Gujarat for Diwali and the New Year that was as much about work as celebration. On Monday, Shah inaugurated and laid foundation stones for around 30 development projects worth about Rs 1,400 crore in Ahmedabad. The projects cover civic infrastructure, housing, education, water management and road connectivity.

The most visible of these is a four-km elevated corridor linking Iskcon Crossroads to Sanand Chowkdi on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway. The SG Highway is one of Ahmedabad's busiest roads, so the corridor is meant to ease daily traffic on a stretch used by thousands of commuters.

Earlier, Shah chaired a high-level review of Gujarat's law and order and internal security, attended by Patel, Sanghavi and senior officials. The agenda went beyond policing. It covered the state's drought situation, farmers' concerns, economic offences and security in the border districts.

What it signals

The visit shows how Shah combines his roles. He is a Union minister, the MP from Gandhinagar, and a central figure in Gujarat's politics. In about 48 hours, he moved from festive greetings to project inaugurations to a security and drought review.

For the state government, the visit links the festive season to its development record. The bigger question for the coming months is how quickly the concerns raised in the review, especially drought relief and farmers' distress, lead to action on the ground.

With inputs from IANS