Bhupendra Patel takes over as 17th Gujarat CM

Firstterm MLA Bhupendra Patel was on Monday sworn in Gujarat chief minister two days after Vijay Rupanis surprise exit from the post a year ahead of the Assembly pollsPatel 59 unanimously elected BJP legislature party leader on Sunday was sworn in as the states 17th chief minister by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a simple ceremony hereUnion Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of some BJPruled states were among those present at the Raj Bhavan ceremonyAs decided by the party only Patel took the oath The council of ministers will take oath during the next few days after their names are finalised BJP sources saidThe governor had on Sunday invited Patel to take oath as chief minister The new leader of BJPs Legislature Party Bhupendrabhai Patel presented a proposal to form the government under his leadership Accepting the proposal he was invited to take oath as CM on September 13 at 220 pm Devvrat tweetedAt Sundays legislature party meeting the proposal to elect Patel the legislative party leader was moved by Vijay Rupani whose resignation as CM on Saturday 15 months ahead of the Assembly polls surprised many political observersRupani the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJPruled states during the coronavirus pandemic was sworn in as chief minister iquest his second stint as CM in December 2017 and completed five years in office on August 7 this yearAlso read Amit Shah reaches Ahmedabad ahead of Bhupendra Patel swearinginWith state Assembly polls scheduled in December 2022 the BJP is banking on Patel a Patidar for poll victory In the 2017 Assembly elections BJP won 99 of the 182 seats and Congress got 77The Patidars are a dominant caste in Gujarat with a sizeable control over the electoral votes and dominate the political economy with a stronghold over education realty and cooperative sectorsPatels elevation he is the first from the Patidar subgroup to be chief minister is key to BJPs plans to woo the Kadva Patidar community which some political observers feel has drifted away from the partyHe is a trustee of Sardardham the Patidar community organisation that hosted the programme where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest on SaturdayBorn in Ahmedabad Patel is an MLA from the Ghatlodia seat previously held by former chief minister and now Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel He won the seat by over 117 lakh votes in 2017 the highest margin in that poll Ghatlodia is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency represented by ShahPatel who holds a diploma in civil engineering has served as Ahmedabad municipal councillor and as the chairperson of the Standing Committee of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority He is also a trustee at Patidar organisation Vishwa Umiya FoundationPatel has never held a ministerial post just like Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was never a minister when he became Gujarat CM 20 years ago Modi was sworn in as CM on October 7 2001 and became an MLA on February 24 2002 by winning the Rajkot seat bypollPatel is considered close to former Gujarat chief minister and present Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel His Assembly constituency is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat represented by ShahThe BJPs CM choice came as a surprise for many as the lowprofile firsttime legislator was not seen to be among the top contenders for the postGujarat BJP chief C R Paatil said Patels work at the grassroot level his hold on the cooperative sector association with party workers and administrative abilities were among the factors that led to his elevationThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever