Bhupendra Patel to take oath as Gujarat CM today; PM Modi to attend ceremony

Along with Bhupendra Patel, some new ministers like MLAs Kanu Desai, Raghavji Patel, Rushikesh Patel, Harsh Sanghavi, and Shankar Chaudhary are also likely to take the oath.

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Bhupendra Patel will take oath as the Chief Minister of Gujarat for a second straight term in Gandhinagar today (December 12, 2022) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries. Patel will be administered the oath as the 18th chief minister of the coastal state by Governor Acharya Devvrat at a function to be held at the Helipad Ground near the new Secretariat in Gandhinagar at 2 PM. As per reports, besides PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and chief ministers of other BJP-ruled states are also expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Both - Modi and Shah - have already arrived in Gujarat.

માનનીય પ્રધાનમંત્રી શ્રી નરેન્દ્રભાઈ મોદીનું અમદાવાદ એરપોર્ટ ખાતે ભાવભીનું સ્વાગત કર્યું. pic.twitter.com/j4OEka3wFG — Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) December 11, 2022

માનનીય કેન્દ્રીય ગૃહ-સહકાર મંત્રી અને ગાંધીનગર લોકસભાના પ્રજાવત્સલ સાંસદ શ્રી અમિતભાઈ શાહનું અમદાવાદ એરપોર્ટ ખાતે સ્નેહસભર સ્વાગત કર્યું. pic.twitter.com/0zN0dOetWk — Bhupendra Patel (@Bhupendrapbjp) December 11, 2022

Along with Patel, some new ministers are also likely to take the oath. MLAs Kanu Desai, Raghavji Patel, Rushikesh Patel, Harsh Sanghavi, Shankar Chaudhary, Purnesh Modi, Manisha Vakil, Ramanlal Vora and Raman Patkar are among those expected to be inducted in the ministry.

Patel, 60, resigned as chief minister along with his entire cabinet on Friday to pave the way for the formation of a new government following the election results. He was then elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party on Saturday following which he met the governor and staked the claim to form the next government.

A low-profile BJP leader and the first from the Kadva Patidar sub-group to become CM, Patel replaced Vijay Rupani in September 2021. 

In the just-concluded Gujarat Assembly polls, counting for which was held on December 8, Patel won the Ghatlodia seat with the highest margin of 1.92 lakh votes in the elections.

The BJP, notably, won a seventh straight term by winning record 156 seats in the 182-member House. The Congress won 17 constituencies and Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) 5.