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Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel on Monday took the oath of office as the 17th Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Governor Acharya Devvrat administered the oath in presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and four Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled States.
The chief ministers who attended the swearing-in at the Rajbhavan in Gandhinagar were Shivrajsinh Chauhan (Rajasthan), Manoharlal Khattar (Haryana), Pramod Sawant (Goa) and Basavaraj Bommai (Karnataka).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the newly sworn-in Chief Minister. “... I have known him for years and have seen his exemplary work, be it in the BJP organisation or in civic administration and community service. He will certainly enrich Gujarat’s growth trajectory,” PM said in a twitter post.
Patel took the charge on Monday and held the first meeting of senior officials including Additional Chief Secretary K Kailashnathan, Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar, Additional Chief Secretaries AK Rakesh and MK Das and relief commissioner Aadra Agrawal to take stock of the situation following massive flooding in Saurashtra region due to heavy rainfall.
The allocation of portfolios will be made in a few days. Political observers are of the view that after choosing a Patidar face for the top post in the government, the BJP will tread cautiously in allocating portfolios to maintain a caste balance.
Patel, 59, who is a first-time MLA and inexperienced in the matters relating to State administration and socio-economic politics, would look to take everyone onboard with him as the State goes to the crucial polls in December 2022.
On Sunday, Patel was unanimously chosen as the next chief minister at the BJP legislative party’s meeting in presence of the central party observers, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar and Prahlad Joshi.
The development followed the sudden resignation of the incumbent Vijay Rupani on Saturday. Patel is a builder by profession and holds a diploma in civil engineering.
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