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Gandhinagar: First-time MLA Bhupendra Patel took oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat on Monday, two days after Vijay Rupani abruptly stepped down a year before the assembly elections.
Patel (59), who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party on Sunday, was administered the oath as the 17th Chief Minister of the state by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a simple ceremony here.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of some BJP-ruled states were present at the Raj Bhavan function.
Patel took oath as per the decision of the party. BJP sources said the council of ministers will take oath in the next few days after the names are finalised.
The Governor had invited Patel to take oath as the Chief Minister on Sunday. “The new leader of the BJP legislature party, Bhupendrabhai Patel, moved a proposal to form the government under his leadership. Accepting the proposal, he was invited to take oath as the Chief Minister on September 13 at 2.20 pm.
In the Raj Bhavan, the newly appointed Shripendra Bhai Patel, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, made a new appointment under the leadership. To send the message the message will be sent at 2:20 pm on 13 o’clock, 2021. pic.twitter.com/gTZrUYKRdW
— Acharya Devvrat (@ADevvrat) September 12, 2021
At the legislature party meeting on Sunday, the proposal to elect Patel as the leader of the legislature party was moved by Vijay Rupani, who resigned as CM on Saturday, 15 months before the assembly elections, leaving many political observers by surprise.
Rupani, the fourth chief minister to step down in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, took his second term as chief minister in December 2017 and completed five years in office on August 7 this year.
With state assembly elections due in December 2022, the BJP is dependent on Patel, a Patidar, for electoral victory. In the 2017 assembly elections, the BJP won 99 out of 182 seats and the Congress 77.
The Patidar is a dominant caste in Gujarat, which has a major control over the electoral vote and dominates the political economy with strongholds on the education, realty and cooperative sectors.
Patel’s rise – he is the first of the Patidar sub-group to become chief minister – is key to the BJP’s plans to woo the Kadwa Patidar community, which, some political observers think, has moved away from the party.
He is a trustee of Sardardham, an organization of the Patidar community that hosted the event, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief guest on Saturday.
Born in Ahmedabad, Patel is an MLA from Ghatlodia seat, previously held by former Chief Minister and now Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel. He had won the seat in 2017 by over 1.17 lakh votes, the highest margin in that election. Ghatlodia is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha constituency which is represented by Shah.
Patel, who holds a diploma in civil engineering, has served as the councilor of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the chairman of the standing committee of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority. He is also a trustee of the Patidar organization Vishwa Umiya Foundation.
Patel has never held a ministerial position like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was never a minister when he became the CM of Gujarat 20 years ago. Modi took oath as CM on 7 October 2001 and became MLA on 24 February 2002 by winning Rajkot seat by-election.
Patel is considered close to Anandiben Patel, former Chief Minister of Gujarat and the current Governor of Uttar Pradesh. His assembly constituency is part of the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat which is represented by Shah.
The BJP’s election of CM came as a surprise to many as the low-profile, first-time MLA was not seen among the top contenders for the post.
Gujarat BJP president CR Patil said Patel’s work at the grassroots level, his hold on the cooperative sector, association with party workers and administrative abilities were among the factors that led to his promotion.
read also: Gujarat’s new CM Bhupendra Patel is engineer, builder, devotee of Dada Bhagwan who has ‘no enemies’
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