Gandhinagar: Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Bhupendra Yadav and Prahlad Joshi along with newly announced Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel (C), former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, State BJP President CR Patil raised hands at the state BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar on Sunday. September 12, 2021.
On Sunday, Bhupendrabhai Patel was chosen as the new Chief Minister of Gujarat in a surprise move. The important decision was taken at a meeting of BJP leaders in Gandhinagar, in which Patel was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP Legislature Party. Patel won the 2017 Gujarat Assembly election from Ghatlodia constituency, defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel by over one lakh votes, the highest victory margin in the 2017 Gujarat elections.
After the announcement, Patel told reporters that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president JP Nadda and Union minister Amit Shah for trusting him. He said he was also grateful for the trust shown in him by the Gujarat leadership including outgoing CM Vijay Rupani and deputy CMs Nitin Patel, CR Patil and other leaders. He said that the blessings of former CM Anandiben Patel were always with him.
The new chief minister said, “The government has done a good job so that development reaches the last person. We will plan afresh and discuss with the organization to take the development works forward.”
Patel will replace Vijay Rupani, who had resigned from his post on Saturday, made the sudden announcement almost a year before the state elections. He met Governor Acharya Devvrat at Raj Bhavan late on Sunday night and staked claim to form the government. Patel will take oath on Monday. The function will start at 2.20 pm.
Read more: Bhupendrabhai Patel is the new CM of Gujarat – Key Highlights
BJP had appointed Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Joshi as central observers for the legislature party meeting to elect the new chief minister. Tomar met State BJP President CR Patil on Sunday morning.
Union minister and BJP’s Gujarat in-charge Tomar said after the party’s legislature party meeting, “Bhupendra Patel has been elected as the new leader of the BJP legislature party. He will soon take oath as the chief minister of Gujarat.”
Rupani (65), the fourth chief minister to step down in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as chief minister – his second term as CM – in December 2017. He became the Chief Minister for the first time on August 7, 2016. , after the resignation of Anandiben Patel, and remained in office after the BJP’s victory in the 2017 assembly elections.
Rupani said that Bhupendra Patel is “competent” while expressing confidence of BJP’s victory in the upcoming assembly elections.
“Bhupendra Patel is capable. We are confident that the BJP will win the upcoming elections in the state under his leadership,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Bhupendrabhai Patel and expressed hope that this decision will give new energy and momentum to the development journey of the state.
Nitin Patel’s bus missed again?
Deputy CM Nitin Patel, who has once again missed the bus, said he has seen many ups and downs, and added that no one can “get him out” as he lives in people’s hearts. Addressing people during a function in Mehsana city on Sunday evening, Patel also said in a light-hearted manner that he was not the only one who got off the bus as there were “many others” like him.
There was speculation that he was unhappy after Bhupendra Patel was elected as the next chief minister at a meeting of BJP MLAs at the party headquarters ‘Kamalam’ in Gandhinagar on Sunday, a day after Vijay Rupani resigned from the top post. Earlier, Nitin Patel, who represented the Mehsana assembly constituency, was seen as one of the top contenders for the post. Patel, however, said such claims have no merit.
Have a look at Bhupendrabhai Patel’s profile
- He is the first time MLA from Ghatlodia seat, which was earlier held by Anandiben Patel.
- Affectionately called ‘Dada’ by many (Rupani is pronounced as ‘Bhai’), Patel is considered close to Anandiben Patel, former Chief Minister of Gujarat and current Governor of Uttar Pradesh. His assembly constituency is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat which is represented by Union Minister Amit Shah.
- Prior to this, Bhupendrabhai Patel served as a municipal councilor in Ahmedabad. He has served as the chairman of the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) and was the head of the standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
- He has a Diploma in Civil Engineering.
- According to a political observer, Bhupendra Patel’s name was not on the long list of probables in the political circles of the state and in a way, the first term MLA emerged as a dark horse.
- He belongs to the influential Patel community.
- Patel has never held a ministerial position like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was never a minister when he became the CM of Gujarat 20 years ago. Modi took oath as CM on 7 October 2001 and became MLA on 24 February 2002 by winning Rajkot seat by-election.
- A soft-spoken leader, Patel has had a meteoric rise in state politics, beginning at the municipal level. He contested his first assembly election in 2017 and won the Ghatlodia constituency in Ahmedabad by over 1.17 lakh votes, the highest victory margin in the state during that election.
Read more: Vijay Rupani voluntarily resigned
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