On Monday, Bhupendra Patel, MLA from Ghatlodia constituency of Ahmedabad is going to be appointed as the new chief minister of Gujarat at Raj Bhavan in Gandhinagar, as per the statement of state governor Acharya Devvrat.
Along with other senior BJP leaders, including Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar former state chief minister Vijay Rupani and Mansukh Mandaviya as well as the party general secretary Tarun Chaug, Bhupendra Patel met governor Devvrat for taking charge of his duties. The oath ceremony of Bhupendra Patel will also be attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah as well as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
In a meeting of state MLAs conducted on Sunday afternoon, Patel was elected as the new leader of the BJP legislative party, in the presence of central observers Prahlad Joshi and Narendra Singh Tomar. CM Rupani had proposed his name. After the meeting, the announcement of the name to media was made by union minister and BJP’s Gujarat-in-charge Narendra Singh Tomar.
Patel is a first-time MLA who won the Ghatlodiya seat in 2017 assembly elections by defeating a Congress candidate Shashikant Patel by 117,000 votes, the largest margin in that poll. He is also involved in social work in Ahmedabad and is an agent of Sardardham Vishwa Patidar Kendra, an organisation that works towards the socio-economic development of the Patidar community.
By profession, he is a builder and has a diploma in civil engineering. Moreover, as a first time MLA, Bhupendra Patel’s name wasn’t mentioned among the frontrunners for the position of Gujarat chief minister, which included former minister Gordhan Zadafia, deputy CM Nitin Patel, and Praful K Patel, administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Lakshadweep. Apart from this, it was also rumoured that Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil and Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya were part of the race.
The declaration of Bhupendra Patel’s name as the CM of Gujarat came as a surprise not only to him but also to his family. Bhupendra Patel’s daughter-in-law Devanshi Patel said that the news was a complete surprise for the whole family as it was quite unexpected, speaking to a news agency.
“It’s like Diwali today. This was never expected, a complete surprise for our family, even we saw it on the news,” she said. Meanwhile, on his arrival, Bhupendra Patel was welcomed by his supporters who gathered outside his office in Ghatlodia on Sunday.