Gandhinagar: Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Bhupender Yadav and Prahlad Joshi with newly announced Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Patel (C), former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, State BJP President CR Patil raise their hands at BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar , Sunday, September 12, 2021.
In a surprise move, Bhupendrabhai Patel was elected as the new chief minister of Gujarat on Sunday. The crucial decision was made at a meeting of BJP leaders in Gandhinagar, where Patel was unanimously elected party leader of the BJP legislature. Patel won the 2017 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election from Ghatlodia constituency, defeating Congress candidate Shashikant Patel by over a lakh votes, the highest margin of victory in the 2017 Gujarat polls.
Following the announcement, Patel told reporters that he was grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda and union minister Amit Shah for the trust they placed in him. He said he was also grateful for the trust placed in him by the Gujarat leadership, including outgoing CM Vijay Rupani and deputy CM Nitin Patel, CR Paatil and other leaders. He said former CM Anandiben Patel’s blessing was with him all the time.
“The government has worked well so that the development reaches the last person. We will plan again and consult with the organization to continue the development work,” said the new prime minister.
Patel succeeds Vijay Rupani, who resigned from office on Saturday, in a sudden announcement nearly a year before the state goes to the polls. He met Governor Acharya Devvrat in Raj Bhavan late Sunday and claimed to form the government. Patel will be sworn in Monday. The ceremony starts at 2.20 pm.
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The BJP had appointed Union ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Joshi as central observers for the assembly of the legislative party to elect the new prime minister. Tomar met state BJP chief CR Paatil on Sunday morning.
“Bhupendra Patel has been elected as the new leader of the BJP Legislative Party. He will soon be sworn in as the Gujarat CM,” said Union Minister and BJP’s Gujarat in charge Tomar after the party’s legislative session.
Rupani, 65, the fourth prime minister to step down from office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as prime minister in December 2017 – his second stint as CM. He became prime minister for the first time on 7 August 2016, following the resignation of incumbent Anandiben Patel, and remained in office following the BJP’s victory in the 2017 parliamentary elections.
Rupani said Bhupendra Patel is “capable” as he exudes confidence in the BJP’s victory in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
“Bhupendra Patel is capable. We believe that the BJP under his leadership will win the upcoming elections in the state,” he said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah congratulated Bhupendrabhai Patel and hoped that the state’s development journey will gain new energy and momentum with this decision.
IS NITIN PATEL MISSING THE BUS AGAIN?
Deputy CM Nitin Patel, who missed the bus again, said he has seen many ups and downs and claimed that no one can “throw him out” as he lives in people’s hearts. Patel, who was addressing people at a rally in Mehsana town on Sunday evening, also said in a lighter way that he was not the only one who missed the bus, as there were “many others” like him.
He was speculated to be unhappy after Bhupendra Patel was elected as the next chief minister in a meeting of BJP MLAs at party headquarters ‘Kamalam’ in Gandhinagar on Sunday, a day after Vijay Rupani tendered his resignation as top post. Before that, Nitin Patel, who represents Mehsana Assembly constituency, was seen as one of the top contenders for the post. However, Patel said such claims had no basis.
A LOOK AT BHUPENDRABHAI PATEL’S PROFILE
- He is a first-time MLA from the Ghatlodia seat, previously held by Anandiben Patel.
- Affectionately referred to as ‘Dada’ by many (Rupani is referred to as ‘Bhai’), Patel is considered close to the former chief minister of Gujarat and current governor of Uttar Pradesh, Anandiben Patel. His Assembly constituency is part of the seat of Gandhinagar Lok Sabha represented by Union Minister Amit Shah.
- Earlier, Bhupendrabhai Patel was a municipal councilor in Ahmedabad. He chaired the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) and headed the standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
- He has a degree in civil engineering.
- According to a political observer, Bhupendra Patel’s name was not on the long list of probabilities discussed in political circles of the state and in a sense, the first term MLA emerged as the dark horse.
- He belongs to the influential Patel community.
- Patel has never held a ministerial post, as has Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was never a minister when he became Gujarat CM 20 years ago. Modi was sworn in as a CM on 7 October 2001 and became an MLA on 24 February 2002 by winning the Rajkot seat.
- A mild-mannered leader, Patel has experienced a meteoric rise in state politics, starting at the municipal level. Contesting his first Assembly election in 2017, he won Ghatlodia constituency in Ahmedabad by over 1.17 lakh votes, the highest margin of victory in the state in that election.
READ MORE: Vijay Rupani voluntarily resigned
