Bhupendra Patel took oath as the ChiefMinister of Gujarat on Monday afternoon. Fondly addressed as 'Dada' by hissupporters, Bhupendrabhai Rajnikanthbhai Patel is set to become the 17th ChiefMinister of Gujarat. Patel has been invited on Monday by Governor AcharyaDevvrat to the oath as the chief minister.
Bhupendra Patel received Home Minister AmitShah at the Ahmedabad airport today ahead of his swearing-in ceremony whichwill also be attended by four chief ministers of BJP-ruled states.
Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Karnataka CM BasavarajBommai, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhanattended the oath-taking ceremony.
Nitin Patel was seen as a top contender forthe post before the party gave the opportunity to Bhupendra Patel. BhupendraPatel met Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel who said he was not unhappywith the BJP’s decision.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat tweeted that“the newly appointed leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Legislature Party,Bhupendrabhai Patel, presented a proposal to form a new government under his leadership.Accepting the proposal, he was invited to take oath as the Chief Minister onSeptember 13, 2021 at 2:20 pm.”
Mr Rupani, who was present on the occasion,endorsed the new Chief Minister, saying the party will "successfullycontest the polls" under his leadership. Elections in Gujarat are due nextyear.
Mr Rupani stepped down from the post ofGujarat CM. He was the fourth Chief Minister to be replaced in the BJP ruledstates so far this year.
Patel is, however, not a new face in politicsand has served as the Ahmedabad municipal councilor. He holds a diplomain civil engineering, also served as the chairman of the Standing Committee ofAhmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority(AUDA). He grabbed more than 72 percent of the vote share in the Ghatlodiaconstituency during the 2017 assembly polls.