Ghatlodia BJP MLA Bhupendra Patel will be sworn-in as new Chief Minister of Gujarat today. State governor Acharya Devvrat will administer him the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar at 2:20 pm. 59-year-old first-time MLA, Patel was unanimously elected leader of BJP Legislature Party yesterday. He met the governor in the evening and staked the claim to form a new government in the state after the resignation of Vijay Rupani as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will be attending the oath ceremony among others. Mr Patel has previously served as president of Memnagar Municipality in Ahmedabad, and the standing committee chairman of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority. He won the 2017 Gujarat Assembly elections from Ghatlodia constituency defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel by a margin of 1 lakh 17 thousand votes.
Bhupendra Patel’s daughter-in-law Devanshi Patel said that the news has taken the family by surprise as it was completely unexpected.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Mr Patel and said he will infuse new energy and momentum into the state’s development journey.
Fifty-nine years old Bhupendra Patel will be the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat. He will succeed the outgoing Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who resigned from the post on Saturday. Mr. Patel became the MLA from the Ghatlodiya seat of Ahmedabad city in 2017. Mr. Bhupendra Patel is believed to be close to Anandiben Patel- Governor of Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister of Gujarat.
After his election as the leader of BJP legislative party, BJP workers and friends and family members have started celebrations.
Talking to media persons, Mr. Patel expressed his thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P.Nadda. He said that he will carry forward the development works of the government.