Ahmedabad, Jan. 26 -- A powerful earthquake devastated Gujarat on Republic Day in 2001, leaving thousands dead and overwhelming the state machinery. The disaster hit the state at a time when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state under chief minister Keshubhai Patel was already dealing with criticism over governance and internal party challenges. The disaster may not have created those problems, it brought them into sharper focus and set off a chain of political decisions that reshaped Gujarat's leadership.

In the year preceding the earthquake, the western state had witnessed severe drought across Saurashtra, Kutch and north Gujarat. Thousands of villages were left dependent on tanker water for months. The handling of t...