Gandhinagar: Bhupendra Patel will take oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Monday afternoon. Affectionately addressed as ‘Dada’ by his supporters, Bhupendrabhai Rajnikantbhai Patel is all set to become the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat. Patel has been invited by Governor Acharya Devvrat to take oath as the Chief Minister on Monday.
Here’s what you need to know about Bhupendra Patel, the new CM of Gujarat:
1) Patel, a 59-year-old BJP leader, has become an MLA for the first time from Ghatlodia seat, a post previously held by Anandiben Patel.
2) He won his first seat in 2017 by a margin of 117,000 votes.
3) He secured more than 72 per cent vote share in Ghatlodia constituency during the 2017 assembly elections.
4) Patel, however, is not a new face in politics and has served as an Ahmedabad Municipal Councillor.
5) Patel, who holds a Diploma in Civil Engineering, also served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA).
6) Patel is also a trustee of the Patidar organization Sardar Dham and Vishwa Umiya Foundation.
7) The election of the name Patel is important for the BJP as he is a Patidar as well as a Kadva Patel.
8) He will be the first Chief Minister of Gujarat from the Kadva Patel community, which constitutes about 12.4 percent of the state’s population.
9) Till now all other “Patel” chief ministers of Gujarat belonged to the Leuva Patel community.
10) Patel is believed to have a strong influence in the Patidar community in Gujarat, which the BJP party has trusted to win the upcoming elections.
In a surprise move, Vijay Rupani had resigned as the Chief Minister on Saturday.
In the 2017 state election, the BJP won 99 out of the state’s 182 assembly seats, with the Congress getting 77 seats.
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