Bhupendra Patel becomes 17th C.M of Gujarat.

First-term MLA Bhupendra Patel was sworn in Gujarat chief minister today noon., two days after 

Home Minister Amit Shah was present during the sworning ceremony of Bhupendra Patel.

The party’s CM choice came as a surprise for many as the low-profile, first-time legislator was not seen to be among the top contenders for the post. Only Patel took the oath on Monday and a decision regarding the new Gujarat cabinet will be taken later, party sources said. Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat on Sunday invited Patel to take oath as chief minister.

Patel, 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 organisations Sardardham and Vishwa Umiya Foundation.

With state Assembly polls scheduled in December 2022, the BJP is banking on Bhupendra Patel, a Patidar, to lead the party. In the 2017 Assembly elections, BJP won 99 of the 182 seats and Congress got 77. The 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 sectors.

At Sunday’s legislature party meeting, the proposal to elect Patel the legislative party leader was moved by CM Vijay Rupani, whose resignation on Saturday, 15 months ahead of the state Assembly polls, surprised many political observers. Most of the 112 MLAs of the party in the 182-member Assembly were present at the meeting, BJP sources said. Rupani, the fourth chief minister to demit office in BJP-ruled states during the coronavirus pandemic, was sworn in as chief minister – his second stint as CM – in December 2017. He completed five years in office on August 7 this year.

Patel 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 bypoll. Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil said Patel’s work at the grass root-level, his hold on the cooperative sector, association with party workers and administrative abilities were among the factors that led to his elevation.

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